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MEMOIR 

OF THE 

REV. JOSEPH SANFORD, A.M. 



I 



MEMOIR 



OF THE 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD, A. 

PASTOR OF THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA. 



BY ROBERT BAIRD. 



« Soldier of Christ! well done ; 
Praise be thy new employ ; 
And while eternal ages run, 
Rest in thy Saviour's joy." 

J. MONTGOMERY. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

HENRY PERKINS, CHESTNUT STREET. 
BOSTOTf: PERKINS & MABTIJiT. 

1836. 



EifTEHED according" to Act of Congress, in the year 1836, by 
Henkt Pebkis^s, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of 
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



I. ASHMEAD A2fD CO. PKI>"TEKS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



It can scarcely be said that this volume is intended for 
the public eye ; for it has been prepared especially, and al- 
most exclusively, for the gratification and benefit of the nu- 
merous friends of the subject of it. 

It became known to several individuals, shortly after Mr. 
Sanford's death, that he had left numerous letters and other 
papers, which bear record of his uncommon piety; and 
which, if published, might, with the blessing of God, be 
instrumental in doing good. And a desire was expressed, 
that the author should undertake the task of their selection 
and arrangement. But incessant duties prevented his at- 
tempting the work whilst he remained in America. And it 
^ has only been by seizing the few hours of leisure which 
other duties have allowed him, since his arrival in Europe, 
that he has been able to accomplish the undertaking. He is 
conscious that the work has been prepared under many dis- 
advantages. With all its imperfections, however, he com- 
mits it to the divine blessing, with the hope that it may con- 
tribute to the promotion of that blessed kingdom which it 
was so much the desire of the subject of it to advance, 
whether living or dying. 



INTRODUCTION. 

To those who enjoyed the privilege of living under the 
ministry of Mr. Sanford, and especially to those who were 
connected to God, through his instrumentality, this Memoir 
of their late excellent pastor is respectfully dedicated. That 
it may be the means of forcibly reminding them of his 
earnest and faithful sermons, and his unwearied efforts, on 
their behalf, and of stirring them up to follow, with more 
alacrity and constancy, the example of his faith and pa- 
tience, is the prayer of, 

THE AUl^HOR. 



Paris, March fth, 1836. 



MEMOIR. 



The Rev. Joseph Sanford was born on the sixth day 
of February, 1797. He was the youngest of three children. 
His parents were originally from the town of Southbury, 
Fairfield county, Connecticut. His father was the son of 
Joseph and Ann Sanford. His mother was the daughter of 
Thomas and Sarah Strong, all of Southbury, Connecticut. 
It is believed that both his father and his grandfather were 
soldiers in the memorable war which resulted in the estab- 
lishment of the independence of our beloved country. His 
parents, a few years after their marriage, removed from 
Connecticut to Vermont, where the subject of these memoirs 
was born. Shortly after that event they removed to Sara- 
toga county, in the state of New York, where they continued 
to reside until July 1816, when they again removed, and 
settled in Cayuga county, in the same state. They were 
both, there is good reason to believe, savingly acquainted 
with the Lord Jesus Christ, and they carefully instructed 
their children in the principles of the Christian religion. 
His father died in the year 1826 ; his venerable mother is 
still living. 

The work of divine grace seems to have been commenced 
in the heart of the subject of these memoirs at a very early 
period. On this point he himself remarks, in some of his 
writings — " From my earliest recollections I had always a 

1 



2 



MEMOIR OF THE 



peculiar veneration for serious persons and things." There 
is reason to believe, that at the age of eight years his heart 
had been renewed by the Spirit. His convictions of sin 
were deep, and distressing, and long ; but he found peace 
and hope through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He did 
not, however, make a profession of religion, by uniting with 
the visible church, until his thirteenth year. At the age of 
fourteen he taught a district school, to the entire satisfaction 
of his employers. 

When in his eighteenth or nineteenth year, he began to 
pursue classical studies, with the view of obtaining an edu- 
cation at college, in order to qualify himself, so far as human 
knowledge constitutes a qualification, for the holy ministry. 
These preparatory studies seem to have been pursued chiefly 
at the academies at Granville, in Washington county, and 
Ballston, in Saratoga county. New York. Even at that 
early period, it is the testimony of excellent men who resided 
at that time in those villages, his piety had attained an un- 
common degree of maturity. He was very active in every 
effort which was made to do good. At the request of the 
proper persons, he took a prominent part in the prayer meet- 
ings, and in the meetings for religious inquiry. And decided 
testimony is borne to the acceptableness and usefulness of 
his exercises and labours on these occasions. The uncom- 
mon talent for popular addresses which he possessed in so 
large a measure, and which he began even then to display, 
rendered his exhortations at the small assemblages of the 
people for religious purposes extremely acceptable. And 
there is reason to believe, during this his earliest period of 
preparation for preaching the everlasting gospel, he was the 
instrument of great spiritual good to many persons. At the 
same time it is abundantly shown, by testimony from the 
most competent sources, that his diligence in study was un- 
remitting and his success great. Both in Granville and 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



3 



Ballston, as well as in the neighbourhood of Milton Academy, 
where, when he was very young, he spent some time in 
teaching the younger classes of that institution, his memory 
is most affectionately cherished by those who witnessed his 
exemplary and Christian deportment, and his zealous and 
discreet efforts to promote his Master's kingdom. 

That Mr. Sanford, whilst labouring for the souls of others, 
was not unmindful of his own soul, and its progress in grace, 
is fully proved by the numerous memorials on that subject 
which are to be found among his papers. To this class be- 
long the striking and appropriate reflections which he was in 
the habit of making at the juncture of the past and coming 
year. The first record of these reflections which is to be 
found among his papers, is that made of the last day of 1815 
and the first of 1816. It is full of pious and solemn medi- 
tations, befitting that interesting crisis. The succeeding one 
is here subjoined, and cannot, we think, be read without 
profit. 

« Ballston, Zlst Dec. 1816. 
« This is truly an interesting moment. Another year is 
just at its close. A few moments, and 'twill be numbered 
with the years beyond the flood, and my account for it will 
be sealed up to the judgment. My God, what an important 
moment ! How stand my accounts with God ? Are my 
sins repented of? Is the pardon for my transgressions 
sealed 1 Have I given myself away to God 1 Am I Christ's 
by the covenant of grace 1 Is he mine, really mine — en- 
tirely mine, eternally mine ; the Lord my righteousness, all 
my salvation and all my desire ] Am I clothed with his 
righteousness, and have I been washed in his blood ? Have 
I ever made an entire surrender of myself to God, soul and 
body, for time and for eternity] Oh, eternal, unchangeable, 
omnipotent, all-wise, all-holy, self-existent, uncaused, omni- 



4 



MEMOIR OF THE 



scient, omnipresent, heart-searching, sin-hating, sin-avenging, 
prayer-hearing, prayer-answering, sinner-pardoning God ! at 
whose incommunicable name the devils tremble, and at whose 
awful voice the earth quakes — by the breath of whose dis- 
pleasure the wicked are slain, and the universe melted down 
— from whose presence the heavens flee away, — wilt thou 
be pleased, in and through Jesus Christ, to look down through 
the confounding interval which lies between us, upon a sinful 
worm, and behold me in Christ with pity and compassion. 
For Christ's sake alone wilt thou pardon my sins, blot them 
from thy book, and fold down the leaf for an eternal con- 
cealment when they are recorded. Enable me to give my- 
self in a covenant to thee ; and here, on the evening of the 
31st December, 1816, in the full exercise of all the powers 
and faculties of my mind, desiring the assistance of thy 
grace, do solemnly dedicate myself, soul and body, uncon- 
ditionally and eternally to thee. 

Thine would I live, thine would I die, 
Be thine through all eternity : 
The vow is past, beyond repeal. 
And now I set the solemn seal. 

Ratify in heaven, oh ever-blessed and glorious Trinity, that 
which has now been done upon earth. And oh, holy Father, 
wilt thou be my reconciled Father and my covenant-keeping 
God ! Oh, Jesus, Master, wilt thou be the Lord my righte- 
ousness and the Lord my strength, all my salvation and all 
my desire! Oh, Holy Spirit, wilt thou be my sanctifier 
and comforter ! And oh, mysterious union of persons, in- 
comprehensible Jehovah God, wilt thou guide, guard, direct 
and protect me during the year upon which I now have en- 
tered; and, if consistent with thy holy will, wilt thou spare 
my life, contmue my health, the use of my reason and my 
limbs, and make me useful in my day and generation. But 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



5 



prepare me for all thy will concerning me, and whether living 
or dying may I be the Lord's. May God grant it for Christ's 
sake. Amen. Jan, 1st, 1817.'* 

On the 19th day of September, 1817, Mr. Sanford entered 
the Sophomore class in Union College, Schenectady, New 
York. Of the events of the three important years which he 
spent in that excellent institution, and the spiritual blessings 
which he enjoyed under its distinguished president and pro- 
fessors, he has left the following memoranda. 



First session. College duties arduous. No opportunity 
for social intercourse. Few religious acquaintances. Spent 
my few ho'urs of relaxation in solitude and retirement, although 
surrounded by a multitude. Find no congenial souls. Ac- 
tuated by a sense of duty, I had the misfortune to offend my 
class, by reciting, contrary to their wishes. A part of them 
were, for awhile, very insolent ; some threatened violence ; 
but I stood in silent, unheeding, self-approving confidence, 
and the storm blew quickly over. Nothing of importance 
took place. My health, which was poor when I entered, be- 
gan to improve. I think that I had much joy and peace in 
believing. Some hours, long to be remembered, in the still- 
ness of midnight, when the noisy, thoughtless crowd were 
locked in slumber, and through " globe's dark solitude no 
mortal wak'd but me." Then my soul seemed to stretch her 
pinions for the heavens, and to hold communion with her Sa- 
viour. Delightful seasons, oh, return ! Examination took 
place on the 16th and 17th of December- Vacation of three 
weeks. Spent it in Ballston very pleasantly. Returned to 
Schenectady, January 9th. Roomed with Bishop.* Staid 

* At present a very worthy and devoted minister and mission- 
ary in the Sandwich Islands. 

1* 



6 



MEMOIR OF THE 



at college four weeks ; returned to Ballston to spend the re- 
mainder of the term. 

TO Z. S. ESQ., FORMERLY OF GRANVILLE, N. Y. 

''Ballston, February 9th, 1818. 

" MY DEAR SIR, 

" Being very providentially in Ballston to spend the Sab- 
bath, I had the happiness to hear from Granville by Mrs. O. 
Believe me, my dear sir, it afforded me no ordinary degree 
of satisfaction to learn that your esteemed family were well. 
And although my last has not been answered, I cannot forego 
the pleasure of forwarding a line ; and a line is all this mo- 
mentary opportunity will allow. My health, since I last 
saw you in Salem, has been good. I entered Union College 
on the 19th of September last, where I have been mostly 
since confined. And if God should spare my Hfe, and con- 
tinue my health, I shall not complete my collegiate course 
until the April of 1820. But this period will soon be gone. 
Time's mighty current rolls the wheel of man's existence ; 
and the spring of childhood, the summer of youth, autumnal 
manhood, and wintry age, are alike affected by the move- 
ment. The little moments which compose our life, on wings 
unnumbered flit away. Each pursues its predecessor, and 
is swiftly pursued by its successor, and soon the last will fly. 
Oh, to be wise to improve them ! ' Heaven's on the wing.' 
Let us fix the citadel of our hopes far above the commotions 
which agitate this lower world. 

" I am very anxious to see you all, and speak face to face ; 
but I cannot tell when I shall enjoy that happiness. A con- 
veyance is hard to be obtained, and my studies are pressing. 
I now expect to spend the remainder of the term in Ballston. 
I can study here to advantage. It will be about six weeks. 
Do let me hear from you. Give my best respects to your 
family. May God throw around you the arms of his 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



7 



protecting providence, and bless you with his free and rich 
salvation." 

March 9th. On account of an increasing debility laid 
aside my studies. I am almost distracted with pain in my 
head. 

Went to New York about the last of March, and returned 
the last of April ; but was advised by Dr. Nott and other 
officers not to resume my studies. Spent May in Ballston. 
Went west in June, and visited Geneva, Canandaigua, and 
Rochester, and returned to Schenectady, on the Monday be- 
fore commencement. Spent the succeeding vacation at Mil- 
ton, and returned with improved health to college, September 
18th, and recommenced my studies. Oh God, make me 
grateful for past mercies ! 

Junior year. Studies more agreeable. Was able to 
pursue my studies far beyond my expectation. Had several 
short seasons of illness, but they did not, in all, hinder me 
more than ten days. Have abundant reason to adore the 
goodness of Almighty God for the mercies I enjoy, numerous 
as the moments of my existence, and rich with immortal 
hopes. Examination took place, December 17th. Vacation 
was spent in Ballston. 

TO MR. H. D., OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

" NeiD York, October 24tth, 1819. 
" I can mingle my thanksgivings with yours, my dear 
friend, that your health is so far restored that you have been 
again up to the house of the Lord, and have renewed your 
vows in his holy temple. Oh, may he grant you grace to 
fulfil them. My soul can say with yours, ' that it is good 
to be afflicted.' Oh, how it softens the heart, sweetens the 
temper, revives the drooping graces of the Christian. It 
improves his views of earthly and heavenly things, by re- 



8 



MEMOIR OF THE 



moving the dust that collects around hinn, from being *of the 
earth — earthy,' and having so much to do with earthly things. 
Oh, we not only know but feel that these very afflictions are 
for our immediate good. The rod is a branch from the tree 
of life, and it is in the hands of our Redeemer ; and we will 
bless him for every stripe, and every smart ; we will kiss 
the rod, and the hand that holds it, and endeavour by his 
grace to say with David, * Before I was afflicted I went 
astray, but now have I kept thy word.' 

" I have had some blessed seasons lately, some seasons when 
I felt that God was near, that I could call him my Father. 
Oh, what a privilege, to be admitted not only into the audi- 
ence-chamber, but into the very banqueting-house of the 
King of kings, to feed on children's, yes, on angel's food. 

* Oh, to grace how great a debtor 
Daily Tm constrained to be.* 

We are the King's soldiers, and if he permits us to sit at his 
table, how faithful ought we to be. 

" I have been through the New York hospital. The sight 
was painfully interesting, to see so much poverty and wretch- 
edness, and yet to see it rendered comparatively happy by 
kindness and care. The lunatic department presented less 
that was loathsome, but more that was affecting. To see 
persons in the vigour of life and health, with reason de- 
throned, is an awful spectacle. Let age and disease crumble 
down the body, it is not so difficult to be borne. But when 
the immortal mind is in ruins, it is a more awful calamity, 
it is of more tremendous import. But what amazing debts 
of gratitude do we owe the Preserver of men, that we enjoy 
the use of all the powers of the mind as well as the body. 
How we should improve them ! To-morrow we may be the 
prey of disease. The air we breathe may contain the seeds 
of death — ^some accident may derange the curious and com- 



REV. JOSEPH SA3VF0KD. 



9 



plicated mechanism of the body. The torch of reason, of 
intellect, may be at once extinguished, and we may be vir- 
tually blotted out from the records of the living ; and as to 
all purposes of usefulness or enjoyment, be as though we had 
never been. Oh, let us seize the passing hour— improve 
the moments as they fly." 

December ^Ist. In the enjoyment of blessings which I can 
neither number nor name, I am brought near the close of 
another year — a year commenced in the best of health, but 
in the course of which I have been brought to contemplate 
wasting disease and an opening sepulchre. It has witnessed 
my prospects clouded, my hopes blighted, my studies inter- 
rupted, my health declining, and all my highest, fondest 
earthly expectations sinking to the earth. But the Lord Je- 
hovah reigns, and reigns a God of consolation. And he is 
as kind and compassionate, when mantled in more than 
chaotic darkness, as when we behold him looking down upon 
us in all the tenderness of suffering sympathy, and all the 
ardour of a Saviour's love. Now, at the close of the year, 
I am enjoying health and happiness ; and a thousand argu- 
ments combine to call forth heart-felt acknowledgments of 
purest, warmest gratitude. Here will I raise my Ebenezer. 
Lord, thou hast been my helper through all the dangers of 
another year. But in that year which is just ending I have 
done nothing for thee, thou Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer 
of men. Oh Jesus, Master, wash me afresh in thy blood ; 
forgive all my sins ; forgive my coldness, my ingratitude. 
May this year not bear testimony against me in the court of 
heaven. Seal not up its report for the great day, but cancel 
all my iniquities and my frailties with thy most precious 
blood. And, oh God of eternity, have mercy upon me, a 
poor sinful creature here, in time, and may I live to thy 



10 



MEMOIR OF THE 



glory, and as one of thy children. In the course of this year 

I have witnessed but the clock strikes-— it . is gone — hid 

in the mighty caverns of the past.— Another to that eternity 
which has gone by ! But I shall see this mighty volume all 
unrolled — mighty volume, rolled hack, rolled onward! 
Dreadful, delightful day ! Jesus, Jesus, be thou my friend ! 

Read Numbers xxi. 5 — 9, in connexion with Rev. v. 6 — 14. 
John i. 29 : " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
the sin of the world." The passage in numbers is all a type, 
and Jesus Christ is the great antitype — looking on the brazen 
serpent represents believing on Christ. He himself says, 
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so shall 
the Son of Man be hfted up." 

Returned to college January 18th, and recommenced 
studies as usual. Roomed alone. Some seasons of serious 
illness; lost as much as ten or twelve days during the term. 
Examination early in April. Visited New York ; returned 
and visited Salem, Granville, &c. Session began early in 
May. Studies very agreeable. Health good during the 
first few weeks of the term, but declined with the approach 
of warm weather. Discontinued study almost entirely three 
weeks before the end of the term. Commencement on the 
28th of July. Spent the vacation in visiting Albany, Waters 
ford, Lansingburg, Cambridge, Salem, Granville, &c. &c., 
and returned to college in good health. 

Senior year— September 24th, 1819. The last year 
placed me under tremendous obligations to devote myself to 
God. What a mass of this world's population did it carry 
from the earth, while I was left behind ! Oh, may I inscribe 
^'Jehovah JireK" upon some monument of gratitude, and may 
it appear on earth and in heaven that I was not spared in 
vain. The weather is very fine, health very good, studies 
agreeable. Have my dearest friend on earth, for a room- 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



11 



mate. Dr. Nott's recitation interesting. Dr. M'Auley goes 
to Malta to-day, to organize a church ; very flattering ap- 
pearances of a revival of religion. 

Dec. 15th. Went to Ballston and Malta, saw what won- 
ders the Lord is doing, and, hlessed be God, hope that I felt 
some of the celestial fire. Saw things new and glorious. A 
communion season at Malta ; about thirty were added to the 
church. Dr. M. seemed inspired, and spoke in strains more 
than mortal. Attended anxious meetings, where from fifty 
to one hundred and fifty were most deeply agitated under a 
sense of sin. 

Milton^ Dec. Slst. A few more hours, and another event- 
ful year will have fled for ever ! I have enjoyed mercies 
which I cannot enumerate. While death has made more 
than ordinary ravages in the ranks of human society, my 
unprofitable life has been spared. Oh, that there were a 
heart in me to acknowledge God's goodness. Oh, that this 
departing year might not leave me with my sins unrepented 
of, but that it might carry, along with its record of my mer- 
cies and my crimes, my gratitude and my penitence. I have 
been too cold and inactive in the cause of Christ ; but, blessed 
be God, I feel somewhat awake, not only to a sense of God's 
goodness in sparing me through another year, but of my 
guilt in loving him no more and serving him no better. May 
I never again become so stupid and so indifferent in the cause 
of my Master, and never so attached to a fleeting, fading 
world. Several of my acquaintances and friends have gone 
during the last year to eternity. Yesterday I saw L. M. ; 
she appears to be going. A few days ago she was in health ; 
now, a confirmed consumption has faded the rose on her 
cheek, wasted her frame, blighted her hopes, blasted her 
earthly prospects. May I have faith to present her case be- 
fore the throne of grace, where Christ, the healer of the 
Gentiles, sits to hear and save. What an affecting insignifi- 



12 



MEMOIR OF THE 



cance does such a providence stamp on all things below the 
stars. Oh God, teach me how short my life is, and give me 
grace to prepare for death, and to improve for eternity. If 
consistent with thy most holy will, spare me through the 
coming year, prepare me for the ministry of reconciliation. 
Warm my heart, purify my motives, quicken my zeal, 
strengthen my faith; and may thy Spirit cherish all my 
Christian graces, and lead me into all truth. Oh, do not 
sufier me to be deceived ; but wilt thou search my heart, 
and try my thoughts, and establish me on the rock of ages. 
Accept my gratitude for the mercies of the past year, and 
assist me to commit the keeping of my frail body and my 
immortal soul to thee for the time to come. Do thou accept 
and bless me for Christ's sake. Amen. 

January I2th, 1820. Returned to college. Felt a de- 
sire unusually ardent that God would pour out his spirit on 
the college. Some of the brethren feel actually more en- 
gaged. 

February 2d. God has made an awful visit to us. Mr. 
A. C. H. of Shaftsbury, Vermont, died suddenly after an 
illness of only three days. Prayed that the mighty power 
which dealt the blow would sanctify it to the good of souls. 
The officers. Dr. M'Auley in particular, improved the provi- 
dence. The corpse was carried into Dr. M'A.'s study-room, 
who, in language more than mortal, urged those to repent- 
ance who came in to see it. 

God was pleased to bless these timely warnings, and to 
awaken many to make the inquiry, " What shall I do to be 
saved ?" Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his good^ 
ness and for his wonderful works to the children of men- 
About the last of February the work was at its height. New 
instances of awakening and conversion were heard of every 
day. But unable to pursue my collegiate studies, and my 
exertions, though feeble, being needed in other places, 1 left 



REV, JOSEPH SANFORD. 



13 



college and went to Saratoga county, where God was open- 
ing the windows of heaven and raining down spiritual bless- 
ings in overwhelming abundance. At the same time the 
work was going on powerfully in Stillwater, Malta, Ballston, 
Gal way, Amsterdam, and Schenectady. 

March, Spent some time in Galway, and witnessed 
scenes never to be forgotten. Miss W. apparently near her 
end. Made a short visit to Granville, returned and called 
upon her for the last time, the day before she died. Found 
her sweetly reposing her confidence on the arm and the 
mercy of Jesus, and calmly waiting till her change come. 
She died in peace : she sleeps in Jesus ; and her ransomed 
spirit, released from its earthly prison, climbs unfettered the 
heights of the celestial city, and mingles in the anthems of 
eternity. 

Passed immediately to New York — found my friends in 
good health. Spent three or four days, and then, for the 
first time, visited Princeton, N. J., in company with my 
friend and benefactor, D. S. Lyon, Esq. While at Princeton 
attended the ordination of Mr. Chapman, one of the mission- 
aries to the Osage Indians. Mr. Woodhull preached. Dr. 
Miller gave the charge. Dr. Alexander made the conse- 
crating prayer. Returned to New York. Preparations are 
making to fit out the mission and family. Never did a 
holier enthusiasm animate the minds of the good people of 
New York. The mission family consists of 21 persons. 
They met for the first time in the Middle Dutch Church, the 
next evening in the Brick Church; at both places appropri- 
ate prayers and addresses were made. The next day, the 
day of their departure, they met in the Consistory of the 
Garden-street Church. From thence they went to the boat, 
in waiting to receive them. Here parting hymns were sung, 
parting hands were given, parting prayers were offered, and 
they left their native land amid the supplications of thou- 
2 



14 



MEMOIR OF THE 



sands ; amid the shouts, no doubt of exulting angels, and the 
smiles of approving heaven. 

Spent a few days with the Rev. T. Osborne, at West 
Farms. Returned to Schenectady to finish my collegiate 
course. The session unusually pleasant. Lectures on 
chemistry, &c. very interesting. The session ends July 
26th. Verily, the Lord has been my helper. Oh, that my 
future life may be more devoted to the service and glory of 
God. Left Schenectady in less than two weeks after the 
commencement, to visit my dear aged parents. Found them : 
in health, on the evening of the 8th of x'\ugust, after an ab- I 
sence of more than two years. Passed through Geneva, \ 
Canandaigua, to Rochester, and thence to Niagara Falls. | 

September. Took leave of my parents ; returned to Sche- 
nectady ; spent about a week at Dr. M'Auley's, and came 
to New York the last of the month. Spent the month of 
October in the hospitable and dear family of Mr. L. Blessed 
be God for some degree of deadness to the world. Oh, suf- 
fer me never more to feel it to be my continuing city ; but 
may I seek one to come, made without hands, where the in- 
habitants shall never say " I am. sick," and where friends 
never part. Oh, may I there meet those friends who have 
died in the Lord. A good work of grace seems to be begin- i 
ning in Dr. Spring's congregation. Attended some inter- 
esting meetings. Really, God seems to be in the midst of 
them. Conversed with some of the hopeful subjects of it. 
Oh, how Christians speak the same language, have the same 
hopes and fears, joys and sorrows and prospects. 

November ^th. Left New York for Princeton, to com- 
mence my theological studies- Oh God, wilt thou not go 
with me and bless me ? else suffer me not to go hence. I \ 
renewedly cast myself upon thee. Through Jesus own me ! 
for a child, and may 1 be obedient and jealous for thine j 
honour. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



15 



It is proper to remark here, that Mr. Sanford maintained, 
I throughout his entire course at college, a high character for 
sound and ardent piety. He was greatly respected by the 
; members of the faculty of that college, and beloved by his 
I fellow students ; and although his studies were pursued un- 
der some disadvantages arising from the want of continued 
health, yet his standing in his class was very respectable, 
j After leaving college, Mr. S. addressed the following letter 
' to his friend, Mr. H. D., of Ballston, N. Y. 

TO MR. H. D. OF BALLSTON, N. T. 

''New York, Sept. 2Sth, 1820. 
" I was unable to obtain a seat at Schenectady on Tuesday, 
I and so could not leave until Wednesday morning at five — 
I and this morning, at half past six, arrived in this city. 

" The state of the fever in Savannah has become less alarm- 
ing, but it is still dangerous to visit those southern towns. 
The Rev. Sylvester Lamed, of New Orleans, is no more ; 
i he fell a victim to the fever about the 19th of September, 
i So pass away the hopes of men ! The remark is often made, 
that genius is almost always short in its career. 

" Where the mind is ardent, whatever may fire that ardour, 
it will soon exhaust the body. Our bodies at best are de- 
caying tabernacles,%ie tottering tenements of rebellious souls. 
But while we can say by one part of our nature to ' cor- 
; ruption, thou art my father,' and to the ' worm, thou art my 
i mother, and my sister,' by another part of that nature we 
! are allied to angels, and if born again, are heirs to crowns 
and kingdoms. Not crowns that will fade, and kingdoms 
i that some ambitious and successful rival may take away, 
I but crowns of immortal glory, kingdoms of unfading gran- 
^ deur and beauty, to which our title deed is the promise and 
the oath of the everlasting God. Oh, how I pity the thought- 
less worldling, who aims at no inheritance but his heaps of 



16 



3IEM0IR OF THE 



shining dust — dust, to be sure, of some relative value ; but 
to him with that contracted heart, and with that sleepless, 
grinding avarice, mere contemptible trash. Verily, a ' soul 
immortal,' spending all her * fires' about the pahry busi- 
ness of the world, resembles 

' ocean into tempest tost, 

To waft a feather or to drown a fly/ 

" I had no design of giving you useful hints on the subject : 
of loving the world. I well know your ideas on that sub- ' 
ject, and I highly approve them, and sincerely hope, that you : 
will not only practise upon such correct opinions, but endea- 
vour to disseminate them, since there are so many excellent 
men, who seem to think that 'to be rich' is the chief end 
of man. 

" But, blessed be God, we have higher and nobler aims. 
We hope that we have tasted too often of the love of God, 
to relish the husks of time and sense. In the course of the 
last winter we often found ourselves in the banqueting-house 
of the King of kings, while ' his banner over us was love.' 
Have we not, my brother, been often fed with children's 
food, while we were unworthy of the falling crumbs ! Verily, 
the grace of God is so rich and so free, the love of God is so 
deep and so broad, the arm of the Lor(^is so mighty, and 
his favour so immutable, that when we are satisfied that he, 
with all his fulness, has become ours, and that we, in spite 
of our unworthiness, have been made his, we may bid a bold 
defiance to all the attacks of Satan, and the world without 
and around us, and Satan and the flesh within us. Jesus 
Christ is indeed a ' strong tower, to which the righteous flee 
and are safe,' whatever may befall them. Satan may vent 
his rage, the malice of men may seize and confine my body, 
they cannot confine my soul from communion with God. 
They may break my body on the wheel, suspend it on the 



REV.^ JOSEPH SANFORD. 



17 



gibbet, burn it in the fire, and scatter my ashes to the winds 
and the waves, I am safe, blessed Jesus, and my sleeping 
dust is under the notice of thine eye, and its scattered par- 
ticles are safe under thy protecting care ; and whether it 
flies in the air, floats in the ocean, or vegetates on the earth, 
the voice, that voice that wakes the dead, will start it from 
its slumbers, and, refined and purified by the resurrection, it 
will bloom in immortal youth and beauty, a fit tenement for 
a blood- washed spirit, and a fit inhabitant for the city of Zion. 
Oh, my brother, let thoughts of God and glory fill our minds, 
and animate us on our journey. Let the past time of our 
lives more than suflice us to have lived in stupidity, for our 
veriest zeal has been little less than stupidity. And while 
here in this world, let us animate and provoke each other to 
love and good works ; and if we are so happy as to meet 
before the throne, we will emulate each other in swelling the 
immortal anthems of eternity. 

" Make my best and warmest wishes to my dear friends. 
Since I began to write, the morning paper has been put in 
my hands, and I learn that the fever at the south is as violent 
as ever. Mr. Larned died on the 19th of September, after 
an illness of four days. Mrs. Larned has lost her mother, 
brother and child, and now her husband, in less than twelve 
months." 



In the autumn of 1820 Mr. San ford entered the Theologi- 
cal Seminary at Princeton, N. J., with the view of prose- 
cuting his studies for the holy ministry. In that distinguished 
institution he remained three years, under the instruction of 
its eminent professors. During this whole period he was 
remarkably attentive to his duties as a student, preparing for 
the high office which he had in view. He was most assi- 
duous in his efforts to acquire the knowledge which the sa- 
cred office demands, and which that institution so richly 

2* 



18 



MEMOIR OF THE 



furnishes. His time was most conscientiously devoted to 
his studies. Nothing was sHghted. The opinions and sug- 
gestions of his beloved and venerated teachers were always 
listened to by him with profound regard and consideration. 
In this respect few men have passed through a theological 
seminary with greater, if equal, propriety of deportment. 
For although he was far from being deficient in self-respect 
and independence of mind, yet he was modest, respectful, 
and most dignified, in all his intercourse with his professors. 
He went to the institution to learn. He had entire confi- 
dence in the qualifications of his instructors ; and no man 
ever left that institution more respected by those revered 
teachers. He left it, giving abundant evidence that he had 
well employed his time and opportunities. His standing as 
a scholar was highly respectable. The essays which he 
wrote, in compliance with 'requirements of the institution, 
display a vigorous mind. On one or two occasions he was 
chosen by his fellow students to perform the highest offices 
which their associations prescribe. One of these was the 
delivering of the annual or semi-annual oration before the 
Society of Inquiry on the subject of Missions. 

But, however respectable Mr. Sanford's standing was as a 
student and a scholar, his ardent piety was far more promi- 
nent. He was, during the whole period, distinguished for 
his dignified, consistent, holy and devoted life. All who 
knew him were deeply impressed with his serious and most 
exemplary deportment. He was a man of much prayer. 
He was solemn, habitually serious, but not morose. There 
was a spirituality, a holy unction, pervading his conduct and 
conversation, which made it manifest that he was a holy man, 
conversant with the heavenly, the hidden life,— the life of God 
in the soul of man. 

Respecting this portion of Mr. Sanford's life the reader 
will find ample and interesting details in the following ex- 
tracts from his letters and journal. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



19 



Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J. 
November, 1820. 
Here I desire to erect my Ebenezer. The Lord has in- 
deed been my helper. When difficulties and embarrassments 
lay across my path, he has removed them. When danger 
threatened, he has been my deliverer. When I have been 
wasted by sickness, and brought nigh unto death, he has 
been my healer. When I have been in darkness, he has 
caused his face to shine. He has given me friends and bene- 
factors; he has fed and clothed me; he has soothed my 
sorrows, and wiped away my tears ; he has carried my bur- 
dens ; he has chosen the changes, regulated tKe events, and 
managed the little concerns of my hitherto useless life. Oh, 
what was I, that he should watch over my childhood, when 
my careless footsteps had not learned to run in the way of 
his commandments? What was I that he should give me 
pious parents, through whose tender care and instructions, 
with the blessing of the Spirit, my mind was early called to 
the business of preparation for death and improvement for 
eternity ? What was I that he should bear with the follies, 
reclaim the wanderings, and restore the backsHdings of my 
earlier as well as my later years'? What was 1, that he 
should early implant a desire in my heart to be employed in 
the holy office of the Christian ministry, and that in spite of 
my indigence and obscurity, he should afford me the means 
of education, and place me now in this seat of sacred science, 
thus granting one of my most ardent wishes 1 I am his by 
every tie that can bind a creature to the throne of its Creator, 
that can endear an unworthy, a rebellious child, to the kind- 
est and best of Parents. And oh, thou Preserver of men, am 
I indeed thine by a living and a life-giving faith, though the 
most unworthy of thy children ? It is all of grace, from first 
to last. And wiU thou enable me to enter on a course of 
immediate preparation for the gospel ministry ? Wilt thou 



20 



MEMOIR OF THE 



grant me thy special blessing in all my studies ? Wilt thou 
dwell in me as a spirit of wisdom, of humility, of illumina- 
tion, of sanctification, of consolation? Warm my heart, 
purify my motives, and, if it might please thee, spare my 
Hfe, continue my health, and in thine own due time permit 
me to enter the field clad in thy might, armed with the whole 
armour of God ; and permit me to perform some humble 
part in thy service in the glorious cause that thou art carry- 
ing forward on earth ; and finally grant me grace that I may 
not dishonour thy cause in death, but may I depart in peace, 
yea, in triumph. Take me in mercy under thy special care ; 
I desire to commit my way unto the Lord, and do thou direct 
my paths ; and whatever in thy providence may be in reserve 
for me, whether prosperity or adversity, long life or early 
death, I desire to rejoice only and continually in the assurance 
that thou wilt do all things well. • 

TO MR. H. D., OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

''Princeton, Nov, 16th, 1820. 
" Yours by Mr. G. came duly to hand in this place, where 
I have already spent more than a week. To say that your 
letter afforded me much pleasure would be useless, for you 
know that already. But were I not selfish, I could not pos- 
sibly find time to answer it so soon. My time here will be 
completely occupied in performing the various duties that de- 
volve upon me as a student of theology — a candidate for that 
holy office, under the weight of whose responsibilities a man 
or an angel would sink, without the supports of God's grace. 
Oh, I never before had such overwhelming views of that 
sacred office ! For an unworthy sinner like me, who have 
been for more than twenty years a transgressor of God's 
law ; with a heart so vile, affections so earthly, faith so weak, 
so much fear of the world and conformity to it, with so much 
impurity in my best motives, and so much imperfection in 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



21 



my best services, — in a word, so very a wretch in the sight 
of God, to think of speaking in his name ! Oh, why does 
he not make the confounding challenge, 'Who hath re- 
quired this at your hands?' He is a God of matchless con- 
descension, to suffer such rebels against his government to 
live ; to devise a plan of salvation ; to come as the ' man of 
sorrows ta redeem those that were under the law ; to suf- 
fer in our name ; to pay the debt we owed to that law ; to 
blot out the hand writing against us ; to come as the Holy 
Spirit ; to raise us from death to life, from sin to grace ; then 
to give us grace for grace, change our state hereafter from 
grace to glory, and then from glory to glory ! Oh, it is 
compassion like a God, it is a theme too high for angels. 
And when the ransomed of the Lord are gathered in, it will 
be sounded in strains higher and nobler than ever rung from 
a seraph's lyre. Oh, my brother, we will weep together 
for our astonishing coldness and apathy ; but we will rejoice 
together too, for such great and precious promises. We 
will try in God's strength to live more to his glory. We 
will think more and more of the scenes of Gethsemane and 
Calvary, and clinging more closely to the bloody tree, will 
cry to that Jesus who once 'hung thereon, but is now en- 
throned on high, to keep us from falling, and to present us 
at last as redeemed sinners, glorified before his Father and 
our Father, his God and our God." 

TO z. s., Esa. 

''Princeton, Dec. 1st, 1820. 
" You once told me that I must not pass debtor and cre- 
ditor with you on the scale of correspondence. I therefore 
write as often as I can make it convenient. My letter from 
Schenectady in September last must have miscarried ; but 
my only regret is, that I have been deprived of the pleasure 
of your answers. When I call to mind the history of our 



22 



MEMOIR OF THE 



friendship, I almost pant for that state of being when it will 
be consummated. 

" My situation here is peculiarly pleasant, associated with 
about seventy young men, all preparing for that sacred office 
under the weight of whose responsibilities a man or an angel 
would sink without the support of God's rich grace. Oh, 
my dear friend, in your happiest moments, when you are in 
the exercise of a lively faith — when the distance between 
earth and heaven seems annihilated — when God is sensibly 
near, and you feel him yours, and tell him all your wants 
with the confidence and the fondness of a child, and are so 
filled and melted with his love that you feel your heaven be- 
gun, — oh then remember me, unworthy me. Pray that 
God would enable me to live to his glory ; that he would 
arm me for the field of battle ; make me, sinner as I am, a 
herald of the cross ; that I may be enabled to consecrate 
every energy to his service, and be willing to sacrifice and 
suffer all things, if it be necessary, for him ; to give myself 
exclusively to him, that I may live in him, and in death not 
dishonour him. Do not think that I have been disgusted 
with the world; no, it is God's world, and although fallen, it 
is not forsaken ; though abased, it is not abandoned. I am 
too much attached to it ; yet I feel its emptiness when com- 
pared with Jesus Christ. I desire to live above it, for other- 
wise it will constantly mar my peace and interrupt me in a 
divine life. 

" God has been pleased to grant me some precious seasons 
lately. I confess that this does give me a disrelish for the 
world which I wish I could always feel. But if the world, 
and the flesh, and the adversary were overcome, where were 
the warfare ? It is one of the articles of the new covenant 
* that we walk by faith, not by sight ;' so that although we 
may enjoy seasons when faith is almost lost in vision, yet in 
mercy to our frailty those seasons are short. Flesh would 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



23 



sink — a walk of faith is best adapted to our circumstances 
and our duties." 

Sabbath^ December 31s<, 1820. This day brings with it 
many manifestations of the love and goodness of God. He 
has spared me almost through the events, and changes, and 
desolations of another year. Oh, that I could begin and end 
every year with a sabbath, and with a sacrament ! To-day 
I hope to meet Jesus at his own table, and there, while I take 
and taste the symbols of his body and his blood, may I have 
such views of his fitness and fulness as I have never had 
before. Jesus, Master, grant me the preparation of the 
heart. May the world be left behind ; may no thought be 
suffered to wander to improper objects ; but do thou possess 
my heart and sway my affections. — I have taken another 
oath to be thine for ever. Oh, maintain thine empire in my 
heart, thou blessed Spirit, and carry on the work of sanctifi- 
cation. Subdue all the corruption of my nature. Take of 
the things of Christ, and show them unto me. Set thy seal 
upon my heart unto the day of redemption. Jesus, Master, 
let me fly to thy bosom ; " hide me, oh my Saviour, hide me 
beneath the shadow of thy wing." The year is almost gone : 
many who commenced it with fair prospects of longevity, 
have been long sleeping beneath the clods of the valley. I 
have seen my friends sinking in the arms of death, and so 
read the loud admonition to be also ready. Oh, may I 
not forget the impressions made upon my mind by death-bed 
scenes. May I never again be attached to the world. May 
I keep the end of my short journey in sight ; and when I 
face the king of terrors, wilt thou stand by me to be my sup- 
port ; and may I pillow my head, my sinking head, upon 
thy compassionate bosom, and sweetly sleep in thee ! 

During the last year I have seen a glorious revival of re- 
Hgion, in which hundreds began their immortal song. Oh, 



24 



MEMOIR OF THE 



my Saviour, carry on thy cause in my heart and throughout 
the world. 

Conversation this afternoon on the best method of closing 
the year. Many good remarks were made on the subject of 
humility, penitence, and new resolutions to live to God's 
glory. My Father in heaven, make me humble, penitent ; 
and in thy strength may I live more to thy glory. May my 
loins be girt about with truth, and my lamp be trimmed and 
burning, so that I may always be ready for the coming of 
the Son of Man. Oh, wilt thou blot out the sins of the 
past year, before it shall be numbered with the years beyond 
the flood, before it shall bear off in its flight my uncancelled 
accounts to the day of judgment. Accept of my thanks- 
givings for the signal mercies of the past year, which have 
been more than I can name or number ; and while I adore 
thee for the past, may 1 trust thee for the future, and thus 
launch forth into the awfjl uncertainties of the time to come. 
But whether I live, may I live to thee; or whether I die, may 
I die to thee ; so that living or dying I may be thine. Grant 
it. Lord, for Christ's sake. 

Saturday evening, January 6th, 1821. This evening 
almost completes one week of the new year. I have been 
already immersed in its cares and its duties. But in what,- 
ever circumstances I may be placed, oh my Saviour, keep 
me near thee. I desire to live in thee and for thee. This 
is a most tempestuous night, and how many poor travellers 
are exposed to these wintry blasts, to this angry storm ! Oh 
God, preserve them. Remember all the children of indi- 
gence in this inclement season. Shelter them from the 
storm, feed them and clothe them ; especially feed them with 
the bread of hfe, and clothe them with a robe of righteous- j 
ness. How should I praise the Lord for the comforts that j 
surround me. Comfortable room and fire, lamp and closet. | 
May my closet bear witness to my gratitude, first to God ■ 
who is loading me with benefits, and next to those kind 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



2^ 



friends to whom, under Him, I am indebted for all the com- 
forts that surround me. Oh, reward them for their faith and 
labour of love ; and may my life be such as becomes the re- 
I cipient of such distinguished mercies. 

! Sabhath morning, January 12th, 1821. Welcome, sweet 

I day of rest ,• sweet pledge of rest on high. Oh, my soul, 

1 be awake to improve the sacred hours. Indulgent Father, 
thy goodness has been still manifested on my account 
during the past week, and I desire to praise thy name for 
any degree of deadness to the world and engagedness in 
thy service. Oh, may I spend this sacred day as becomes 
an expectant of glory. Grant me fervour in devotion. 
Tune my heart to sing thy praise. Enable me to come 
near thee in communion, to draw large draughts from 

I the wells of salvation ; to eat of heavenly, spiritual manna, 
and acquire a disrelish for what the men of the world call 
pleasure. Oh, strengthen my faith. Wean me from the 

I world. Grant me that peace, and joy, and confidence in 
Jesus, that will enable me to look on death with a tranquil 
gaze. May I often dwell on the closing scene of my life. 

i Some of my dearest friends with whom I have often knelt 
around the domestic altar, had sweet converse of our com- ^ 
mon hopes and fears, have often mingled hearts and voices 
in songs of praise to thee, are this day swelling the anthems 
of eternity around thy throne. They are freed from sin, 
they worship thee no longer in temples made with hands, 
they no longer mingle tears of bitterness with the offerings, 
and sing thy praises with a faltering tongue. No, the temple 
is made without hands, tears are for ever wiped away, their 
songs know no discord and never end. No darkness comes 
across the soul. No intervening cloud to hide the face of 
Jesus. Oh, my Saviour, draw thine image on my heart. 

I Make the lines thereof deep and broad, that I may know that 
I am thine. 

3 



26 



MEMOIR OF THE 



Sabbath morning, Jan. 26th. Heard Dr. Miller from 
1 Cor. XV. 55, " Oh death, where is thy sting f His object 
was, first, to show that death has a sting ; 2d, that Christ 
takes away the sting of death, which is sin. Oh, that I 
might habitually look upon death as having lost its sting. 
Mr. Perkins in the evening spoke of spiritual life and spiritual 
death from Eph. ii. 1: "And you hath he quickened who^ 
were dead in trespasses and sins." 

Sabbath evening, Feb. Uh. Thus far the Lord has led 
me on, through dangers seen and unseen, by day and by 
night, at home and abroad. Surely I may say with the _ 
greatest propriety, " Goodness and mercy have followed me ] 
all the days of my Hfe." God has led me by a way I knew , 
not. Oh, what a mercy that the veil which conceals futurity 
is impenetrable. While God sheds light upon my immediate 
path, it is all I have need of, and even without that I can 
walk by faith. But he does cast light upon my goings, and | 
the luminous path in which I now walk and rejoice, appeared i 
once dark and gloomy ; and while I adore my God for the 
past I will trust him for the future. One day only remains 
to me of twenty-four years. All have been crowned and 
crowded with the mercies of my heavenly Father. If I 
should or could count them, they are more in number than j 
the sands. I do bless my kind, and tender, and bountiful ^' 
Father, for the signal mercies of the past year, and especially 
for the lessons he has taught me of the world's emptiness, of 
life's uncertainty. How our brightest prospects may be 
blighted, our fondest hopes disappointed. The scene of every 
plan of happiness substantial must be laid beyond the grave. 
Oh, my God and Father, there wilt thou enable me to build 
my hopes where all is substantial and sure. Grant me more 
deadness to the world, and may I live in thee and to thee, I 
and for thee alone. My heart is prone to search for some ' 
earthly idol, but do thou take possession of my heart, and , 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



27 



reign without a rival there, and be the object of my warmest 
affections and my most intense desires. 

" Come, Heaven, and fill my vast desires. 
My soul pursues the sovereign good ; 
She was all made of heavenly fires. 
Nor can she live on meaner food." 

TO MR. H. D., OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

" Princeton, February 6th, 1821. 

"My situation here is still very pleasant; health was. 
never better, and on the whole I think I never enjoyed myself 
so well as it respects situation, prospects, employments, and 
spiritual exercises, as since I came here. 

" But truly my whole life appears worse than a blank. 
I know of nothing that I have done for God. There is so 
much that is unholy in our purest motives, when we are en- 
gaged in the service of God, that it must at best be abomi- 
nable to a being who sees and hates the very least sin. . 

" And oh, how much of our lives have run to waste ,* and 
should we be called suddenly to the bar of God, how could 
we expect to hear said of us, ' Well done, good and faithful 
servant?' When I think of this, I am impatient to finish my 
studies, and to be engaged, soul and body, in the service of 
the great Head of the church. But then I think the inquiry 
should rather be what is my duty here, where God has placed 
me, and not what would it be in other circumstances ; and 
so I feel convinced, that to apply my mind dihgently to my 
preparations for the gospel ministry is my present duty. 

" Oh, what a resting place is the Rock of ages ! What a 
support is the arm of Omnipotence ! What a master is the 
King of kings ! What a prize is an immortal, unfading 
crown ! And do we serve such a master, rest on such a 
foundation, expect such an inheritance ? ' What manner of 
persons ought we to be !' 



28 



MEMOIR OF THE 



" There is a revival of religion about ten miles from this 
place, in Trenton, where thirty or forty are already hopeful 
subjects of it. But Princeton, highly favoured Princeton, is 
cold and stupid ; the church is, I may say, asleep. God 
grant it may not be the sleep of death. I have just heard 
from Cayuga county, where my father lives. There, God 
is working wonders of mercy in the salvation of sinnerso 
My letter stated, that * the whole town seemed to be electri- 
fied with the Spirit of God. In some respects, the work is 
, the most remarkable I have ever heard of since the days of 
the apostles. Sinners are made to tremble, and saints to 
rejoice.' " 

. February 22d. A day set apart for prayer and fasting, 
by the members of the seminary. Oh, how much need of 
humiliation before God ! on account of the low state of re- 
ligion in our own souls, the hardness of our hearts, the 
weakness of our faith, our earthly mindedness, our conform- 
ity to the world. Oh, may we not wish to appear unto men 
to fast ; but wilt thou grant us what is the object of fasting — 
deep humility of heart, and a melting sense of our sins and 
short comings in every duty, and, in some, of our failure 
altogether. Oh, Redeemer of my soul, let the remaining 
part of my life be spent more to thy glory. Accept of my 
thanksgiving for any spiritual enjoyment, for any degree of 
deadness to the world. Carry on thy work in my soul, and 
make me a more ardent, fervent. Christian. 



TO MR. H. D. OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

March 8th, 1821, 
"Your. long and welcome letter came to hand on the 
morning of the 22d ultimo. I shall not attempt to tell you 
how much pleasure it afforded me. I did not really think 
you had forgotten me ; but I felt lonely and forsaken, and 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



20 



often thought of other days and distant friends, and sighed ; 
and could not conjecture what could keep you so long silent; 
and so my fancy and my apprehensions put it at the worst, 
and my full heart, breathing out its melancholy, found par- 
tial relief. I look upon the friends of my heart as so many 
gifts from God, as such I love them, as such I make them a 
subject of my morning and my midnight prayers. In my 
thoughts by day, and in my dreams by night, I mingle in 
their dear society, and feel their warm and fond embrace. 
But when I wake, ' the vision is fled, mountains rise, and 
billows roll between us.' But it is well we have something 
always to remind us, what we all acknowledge, * that this is 
not our rest.' We are so earthly, so fettered to the world, 
that even with all the providences and revelations of God, 
and all the hard-earned lessons of sad experience, and all 
the high hopes beyond the grave, we can scarce rise for a 
moment above this earth. 

" But, dear brother, I hope your poor unworthy friend is 
learning, though slowly, to draw upon heaven and heavenly 
things, for his substantial comforts. Oh, I hope, and trust, 
I desire sincerely to bless and praise God, for weaning me, 
in some measure, from the world ; that he is enabling me to 
lay the scene of my plans of happiness beyond the swellings 
of Jordan; that every day seems to strengthen my resolu- 
tions to live for God, to God, and none other. I mention 
these things because you were so kind as to inquire about 
my spiritual affairs, and because I know you will rejoice 
with me in the goodness of God. 

My brother, I hope we know something of the commu- 
nion of saints, and these are certainly antepasts of hea- 
venly joy. We rejoice and weep together ; we bear each 
other's burdens, share each other's joys ; and our prayers 
mingle around the same throne. And what if we meet 
there next ? Should such a thought make us sad ? Should 

3* 



30 



MEMOIR OF THE 



it start a solitary tear ? No, no. There is Jesus waiting to 
receive us ; the mansions are prepared, ' all things are 
ready.' There, is the church of the first-born ; there, are 
our dear friends, who have died in the Lord, with whom we ' 
have often knelt around the domestic altar ; with whom we 
have walked to the house of God, and surrounded the table 
of Christ's dying love ; with whom we have often held sweet 
converse about heavenly things, and wept over our coldness 
in the cause of Jesus. There, are no darkness and doubts ; 
no bitter tears, no sins, no partings, no backslidings, but all 
is perfect love, perfect worship, perfect happiness there! 
Oh, is it possible ? There, we shall wear immortal, starry 
crowns, and triumph in our Saviour's love for ever. Oh, 
who would shun the hour that cuts from earth, and fear to 
press the calm and peaceful pillow of the grave ? Oh, God, 
make us fit and willing to live, and may we not live in vain ; 
but may we perform our humble part in thy cause, and have 
grace to live to thy glory. 

"It affords me satisfaction to think I am remembered 
when you make your nearest approaches to the throne of 
grace. Oh, continue to pray that I may have grace and 
strength to improve all the high privileges I enjoy, and that 
I may at last, in God's time, enter the holy ministry, armed 
with the whole armour of God, and that I may be an hum- 
ble, but an undaunted, champion of the truth. 

" Dear brother, I wish to exhort you, and yours, and all 
that love the Lord Jesus Christ, to be more engaged. We 
have not yet the spirit of the times ; we want that zeal and 
devotedness that fired confessors and martyrs, and mission- 
aries. Oh, for the zeal and the tongue and the wings of an 
angel, to herald the everlasting gospel round the world. 

" If my health is spared, and circumstances unforeseen 
do not prevent, I hope to visit Ballston in October next. But 
that time is distant ; thousands will sleep in death before it 



11 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



31 



arrives, and we may be among the number. But let us live 
to God ; and rest assured that all the circumstances of our 
lives and of our deaths will be regulated in the best possible 
way. 

" Last evening the Rev. Mr. Ward, missionary from Se- 
rampore, in India, preached here. You know he is on a 
visit to this country to collect funds for the college at Se- 
rampore. He related many interesting facts of the mission, 
and of the prevailing superstitions of the Hindoos. The 
fact of his being an eye-witness gave his relations a peculiar 
interest, although I had read the statement before. To-day 
the Osage mission family is to pass through this village ; so 
that missionaries from the extremities of the globe will meet 
in Christian fellowship, and sing and pray together." 

March 9th, To-day the Osage mission family passed 
through Princeton. We met in the church, sang two hymns, 
and had two prayers ; the first of which was offered by the 
Rev. Mr. Ward, missionary of Serampore. At the close 
of the service the mission family sang " Farewell my friends, 
we must be gone." The whole service was inexpressibly 
solemn. To see a family of nearly forty persons, devoted 
soul and body completely and actively to God, and actually 
on their way to the wilderness of the west, and to join in 
prayer with a dear missionary from the east, a distance of 
17,000 miles — I trust it made the subject of missions seem 
real. Oh, God of grace, make it the means of exciting a 
missionary spirit. May the wretchedness of those that know 
not God lie continually upon our hearts, that we may cry 
without ceasing to God for the extension of the Redeemer's 
kingdom. May we all be willing and wishing to devote 
ourselves exclusively to God, to be used when, and how, and 
where he pleases. Verily, there is nothing worth living for 



32 



MEMOIR OF THE 



but to serve and glorify God. Oh, God, I do desire to give 
myself away renewedly to thee. Use me for thy glory. 
Sabbath, I8th. 

"Seasons and months and weeks and days 
Demand successive song's of praise." 

I rejoice in the high privilege of uniting to-day with the 
worshippers around the throne in praising God on this Sab- 
bath of ours, and this eternal Sabbath of theirs. We will 
sing the song of redeeming love in Christ. Oh, God, may 
my sinful heart not be a discordant string to join the grand 
chorus ; but attune my heart and my voice for thy worship, 
and may I forget the world and the things of the world, and 
spend the sacred day alone with thee. 

March 25th. During the last week I have been reading 
the lives of Samuel J. Mills and Henry Martyn, both emi- 
nently devoted to God, and who are to-day praising him 
around the throne in his immediate presence. Oh, for some 
of that fervour that glowed so eminently in their bosoms. 
They counted not their Hves dear ; they acted nobly, con- 
sistently. Fondly hope, I do feel something of the love 
they felt, and I pray God to grant me more. I am sure 
there is nothing worth living for but to serve God. That 
man is certainly happiest who lives alone for God. It is 
my reasonable duty to devote myself a " living sacrifice" to 
God. Oh, what an expression — to live a dying life, and to 
die a living death for God. To deny myself and take up 
every cross and follow where my master leads, through good 
report and bad report ; and by the assistance of his grace 
this I will do ; this I am willing to do, if I can promote his 
glory and the good of souls. It is but a Httle to lay down 
all I have, even my life, for Christ, which, in this age of the 
world, is scarcely possible. How worse than criminal to 
withhold myself and all my time and power from God ! 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



33 



Oh, grant me grace to live to some purpose. To live for 
thee, to live for eternity. Come, Holy Spirit, take posses- 
sion of my heart and sway all my affections, and make them 
holy. 

April Isf, 1821. Communion Sabbath. Thanks ever- 
lasting be unto God for the institutions of his vi^ord, and for 
the blessed privileges which this delightful day brings with 
it. Oh, to be seated in the banqueting house of Zion's 
King, to sit at his table, to see the King in his beauty, to feel 
his love! We commemorate the death of the Friend of 
sinners, that death that purchased everlasting life for us. 

« With joy we tell the scoffing- age, 

He that was dead has left the tomb ; 
He lives above theu- utmost rage, 
V And we are waiting- till he come." 

! We, yes I, even I, whose sins drove the nail, and pointed 
the spear ; I, who have lived far from God, who have been 
conformed to the world, a captive of Satan, and a willing 
captive, brought nigh by the blood of Christ. " Oh, to grace 
how great a debtor." Lord Jesus, bind my heart to thy 
throne, clothe me with thy righteousness, be all my salva- 
tion and desire. 

TO MISS A. J. 

April 25tk, 1821. 

I " Oh, I do love to come near, even to his seat, and call him 
* Our Father,' yours and mine. He is kind, he has been 

i always kind ; he has followed us with mercies ; he has filled 

I our cup with blessings, and our souls with hopes of immor- 
tal life and glory. And shall we receive these good things 
at the hand of the Lord, and shall we shrink from his chas- 

I tising hand ? Especially, when we are sure that he chas- 
tises those whom he loves, that the ' rod is a branch from 

L 



34 



MEMOIR OF THE 



the tree of life,' and that it is in a Father's hand. Oh, no, 
let us kiss the rod ; let us humble ourselves before God, im- 
plore his Spirit to sanctify all his dealings, and to assist us 
to live more to his glory while we live, be it longer or shorter, 
and to prepare us for that blessed world ' where the inha- 
bitants shall no more say I am sick.' Whither all our dear 
friends, who have died in the Lord, have gone ; there, where 
sin and death can never enter ; there, where the King of 
Heaven holds his court ; where Jesus intercedes and reigns ; 
where our ransomed souls shall be unclothed of this cum- 
brous clay, and expand and expatiate, amid all the unclouded 
splendours, and the unutterable glories of the New Jerusa- 
lem ; there to see God without a veil, to bow down before 
him ; to adore, with cherubim and seraphim ; to catch the 
notes of Abel, and Adam, and Enoch, some of the first re- 
deemed sinners that ever passed from earth to heaven, and 
who have been stretching onward and onward, in their ca- 
reer of rapture, for almost six thousand years ; there, to re- 
view our pilgrimage below, to know that all the storms are 
past, that all our tears are dried up for ever ; to be filled 
with all the fulness of God ; to see eternity opening before 
us, an endless range of progressive blessedness, and no pos- 
sibility of a change but from glory to glory ! Oh, God of 
grace and glory, strengthen these desires after a holy heaven ! 
How poor is human language to express the views which, 
even here, we are permitted to entertain of the society and 
employments and enjoyments of heaven. 

"I did not think of saying half so much. You will not 
think it ostentation. I am ashamed that my heart is so hard 
and cold; but when I meditate on this heavenly theme, I 
seem to breathe another air. My soul struggles under con- 
ceptions altogether unutterable. Oh, to be an angel, to have 
the powers and the harp of an angel, when we dwell on this 
theme of angels, this subject of eternal transport ! 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



35 



«When Gabriel speaks these mighty things, 
He tunes and summons all his strings.' " 

April 8th. News from the Sandwich Islands. Blessed 
be God for what he has done by the naight of his own arm. 
That at a blow he has crushed the system of their idolatry 
and opened the way for the gospel of God our Saviour. 
That through the long, long wastes of waters and of wilder- 
ness that lie between us and our heathen brethren there, the 
cry is heard, " come over and help us." Oh, may it not 
be heard in vain. Oh, Head of the church, work wonders 
to-day in Zion. 

TO THE SAME. 

"April— ,1821, 
" But what a. privilege to accompany the child of God in 
the last day's journeyings of his earthly pilgrimage; to mark 
the progress of disease; to see the tenement of clay dis- 
solve ; to mark the imprisoned blood-bought spirit struggling 
to be free ; to see the value of religion ; to learn the insigni- 
ficance of the world — these are some of the privileges you 
were permitted to enjoy at the bed-side of your much- loved 
uncle. 

" I have often told you, the most profitable scenes I have 
ever beheld, have been death-bed scenes. My soul would 
ever hold them in warm remembrance. They come across 
my mind with all the power of a charm ; and exert, I trust, 
a holy, heavenly influence. They do not make me sad, but 
they make me solemn. They check the ardour of youthful 
enterprize, and assist me when 1 wish to pause and com- 
mune with my own heart, and to think of the closing scene 
of life, of the narrow house, and of heaven beyond it. 

" You say, you read to your uncle, as he is able to bear it. 
If you have not read the Obituary of Mrs. Poor, as contain- 



36 



MEMOIR or THE 



ed in the Missionary Herald for April, I wish you would 
obtain it. It will refresh your soul ; and it is peculiarly 
appropriate to such a case as your uncle's. * Oh, how she 
longed to have her passport sealed and be released.' 

" My dear A., what is the world? It groans under its 
Maker's curse. It is reserved unto fire. It is not our rest, 
it is ' polluted.' It will be burnt up ; the decree has gone 
forth from the throne of God, ' Let us arise and depart,' 
quit our hold upon the world, and lay hold on the hope set 
before us. Let us cling to Jesus ; there is safety no where 
else in the whole universe of God. And while we hope in 
Christ, and feel our feet firmly placed upon the Rock of 
Ages, let us strive, by our prayers, precepts and example, 
to influence those whose feet stand on slippery places to be- 
ware ! In our several spheres, and in various ways, we may 
be useful to the church of Christ, in promoting the salvation 
of our fellow creatures ; and when we come to lie on a bed 
of death, and our career of activity is ended, the recollection 
of earnest, honest endeavours to do good will be sweet to our 
minds, while we lie in calm expectation of our departure. 

" And in anticipation of that-solemn, awful hour, let us be 
more diligent ; let us give all diligence to have our work 
done, and well done ; to be sure that our peace is made with 
God, our heaven secure ; for clouds and darkness will be 
unutterably dreadful in the ' swellings of Jordan.' " 

May Ath, 1821. Praised be God that my life has been 
spared and my health and comforts continued until now. 
Thanks be unto his holy name for any degree of deadness 
to the world, and for any sense of his presence, for any in- 
creasing love to him, for any deeper and more humbling 
views of my heart's corruptions, for any greater sense 
of my unworthiness, weakness, and complete, entire depen- 
dence. Oh, God, carry on thy work in my soul. Search 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



37 



me and try me, cleanse my heart of all its abominations, 
cleanse it and claim it, oh. Holy Spirit, and make it thine 
abode. How dare I ask it 1 Pardon my presumption ; I ask 
it in my Saviour's name. 

« Unworthy dwelling-, glorious guest, 
Favour astonishing, divine." 

May I have an increasing love for thee, thou fairest among 
ten thousand. May I obey thy precepts, imitate thy illus- 
trious example, bear thine image on my heart, and may I 
remain in time and through eternity a monument of the effi- 
cacy of thy Gospel and a trophy of thy victorious grace. 
Carry on thy cause in every part of the world. Employ 
me to act some humble part in this cause. Saviour of sin- 
ners, use me for thy glory. 

May ISth. The last Sabbath of the session. It seems 
scarcely possible that more than half the year has passed 
since I became a member of the seminary. Verily, " time 
rolls its ceaseless course," and I am insensibly, though ra- 
pidly, borne along upon its wave. How it steals away the 
moments of my life. How death is posting on. 

*' Oh let me catch the transient hour, 
Improve each moment as it flies." ^ 

Every day may 1 feel that I am acting for eternity, and 
every day may I perform some business for eternity. " So 
teach me to number my days, that I may apply my heart 
unto wisdom." Grant me the wisdom that comes from thee. 

June M. Three weeks have passed since I have made 
any record of thy goodness. But how strikingly have those 
weeks been marked with thy goodness. T trust I have felt 
gratitude though my pen has failed to record it. I have 
long endeavoured to commit my way unto thee, to ask coun- 
sel of thee, and not to lean to my own understanding. I 

4 



38 



MEMOIR OF THE 



have been enabled to trust in thee, and now, blessed be thy 
name, thou hast fulfilled thy promise and given me the de- 
sire of my heart. Oh, grant me thy blessing in the enjoy- 
ment of thy gifts ; may I never forget the source of all my 
comforts, and may the richest, tenderest mercies, instead of 
weaning my affections from thee by usurping thy place in 
my heart, lead me constantly to love thee more and serve thee 
better. May I feel the increasing obligations which thy re- 
peated and diversified favours involve, and henceforth may I 
feel that I am doubly thine. Grant me more of thy love, 
more love for souls, more zeal for thy calise, more deadness 
to the world, more entire, sincere devotedness to thy cause 
and kingdom. 

June 2Uh, Still thy mercies are repeated with every mo- 
ment of my life. In my visit to New York thy goodness 
has followed me at every step, and notwithstanding one dis- 
appointment, unpleasant in itself, but which already works 
for my good, every occurrence is calculated to fill me with 
gratitude and humility. Oh, God, grant me humility. Let 
not the honest but imprudent remarks of my friends make 
me vain, or give me occasion to think of myself more highly 
than I ought to think. May all my strength and influence 
be consecrated to thy cause. May I lie low at the foot of 
the cross. May I never desire the honour that comes from 
men. Deliver me from a man-pleasing, a man-fearing, and 
world-adoring spirit ; but, oh, wilt thou purify my heart and 
my motives, and enable me to perform some humble part 
in thy cause. May I live nearer to thee, be more dead to 
the world, and be making constant advances in a divine life, 
becoming more and more devoted to thee and thy cause, 
more heavenly minded. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



89 



TO MR. H. D. OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

''May 15i^,1821. 

" To-day our long session ends, and I can assure you I 
am glad of an opportunity of relaxation. I wish I could go 
to Ballston, and then ride to Granville, to spend part of my 
time where God is pouring out his Spirit. I heard of the re- 
vival when I was in New York about three weeks ago. Dr. 
M'Auley told me it had commenced powerfully. About ten 
days since I received a letter from R. Shepherd, Esq. giving 
me further particulars. 

" You will learn all the news from this region from the 
brethren whom you will probably see in the course of the 
vacation. I expect to leave the seminary only for a short 
time, just to recruit my strength, and then to return to my 
studies. There is so much before me to learn, and the time 
is so short, that there is really not a moment to spare. 

I wish to be remembered particularly to all my friends. I 
should be happy to see them this vacation but cannot. I 
hope to visit you in October. I long since learned a little 
* ode to disappointment,' which has often since been the best 
language in which my feelings could be expressed. You 
will see it in the first volume of Kirk White's Remains. You 
know, my brother, how to be grateful for afflictions. 

* Trials make the promise sweet. 

Trials g-ive new life to prayer; 
Trials bring- me to his feet, 

Lay me low, and keep me there.' 

" Blessed be God, tribulation is a part of the legacy our 
Saviour has left us. Oh, may we improve them, and all 
our numerous blessings ; and live more to his glory." 



40 



MEMOIR OF THE 



TO MISS A. J. OF TRENTON, N. J.* 

''Philadelphia, May ISth, 1821. 

" MY DEA.R A , 

" You will doubtless be surprised to receive a letter from 
me so soon, and especially when I have the pleasing pros- 
pect of seeing you in town in a few days. But I will not 
attempt an apology. I regretted much that I came so early 
to town, since there will be nothing that I am anxious to 
hear or see in the Assembly until Monday. I presented the 
letter your mother was so kind to give me to Mr. Henry, 
but I have not yet become acquainted with the family." 
* # * - * * 

" True, genuine affection, must always be founded upon 
merit, solid merit, and is therefore as immutable as the prin- 
ciple on which it depends. Circumstances may change, 
summer friends may fail, the world may frown — but distance 
of place, nor lapse of time, nor change of circumstances, can 
break the tie that binds heart to heart, when human friend- 
ships are sanctified by religion. 

" But how important that we should be cultivating more 
and more the spirit of the gospel, and be endeavouring to 
live more and more to God. Oh, should any" earthly object 
come between our hearts and Jesus, he would remove it in 
mercy to our souls. Let our high ambition be to lie at the 
feet of Jesus. Let our most ardent wishes be to promote his 
glory. And let us endeavour to do every thing with a re- 
ference to eternity." 

* This letter, and many of those which follow in this chapter, 
was addressed to Miss Anna Jackson, of Trenton, who afterwards 
became his wife. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



41 



TO THE SAME. 

" Princeton, June \st, 1821. 

<' Last evening I went to the office after ten o'clock for 
your letter, just exactly in time to be caught in a tremendous 
shower, that already blackened all the heavens when I left 
the house. The earth was shaking with its thunders, and 
my path was rendered luminous by its lightning. You may 
perhaps think me rather romantic, but I can assure you it 
was a stormy reality before I reached Dr. Alexander's : I 
had engaged to spend the night there." * * * 

" How much danger that our ' dearest joys and nearest 
friends' will usurp the place that Christ Jesus ought to hold 
in our affections. Let us guard against it and pray against it, 
and by cultivating a keener relish for spiritual enjoyments 
become more and more dead to the world. Our happiness 
depends on the presence and favour of God, whether we wish 
it or not. No matter whether we soar in honour or sink in 
disgrace — no matter whether we roll in affluence or beg our 
morsel from door to door, the presence of God alone can 
make us happy. And were I called on for a choice of con- 
trasted miseries, I would much rather endure the misery of 
the peasant than that of the prince. The wretchedness of 
the cottage is far more tolerable than the wretchedness of 
courts. And so in proportion I would say of all the different 
grades in Hfe and classes of society. 

* When winds the mountain oak assail, 

And lay its glories waste, 
Content may slumber in the vale, 
Unconscious of the blast.' 

" I do not know when I can see you, but intend to before 
I go to New York. Thanks to your mother for the interest 

4# 



42 MEMOIR OP THE 

she takes in my health. I hope Miss B. is improving in 
health, and especially that she may experience the tender- 
ness and skill of the Physician of souls. Let us live nearer 
to God and more for his glory. Let us love our Saviour 
more, and give ourselves no rest in his absence— no joy un- 
til he return to bless and cheer our hearts by the light of his 
countenance. Into his hands I commit you. May you be 
blessed indeed. Live near to him and be happy." 



TO THE SAME. 

''New York, June lUh, 1821. 
Arrived here at ten o'clock this morning. Dr. 



Neil, of Philadelphia, one of the passengers 

" Oh, let us cultivate more intercourse with heaven, and 
endeavour to feel that our happiness depends on God's pre- 
sence alone, even when we are surrounded by our dearest 
friends. By what a ' precarious tenure' we hold them ! Let 
us try to have our conversation in heaven, even while we 
dwell upon the earth, and as much as possible hold ourselves 
loose from the world. * Lean not on earth.' Oh, how im- 
portant the admonition. The freshest rose may wither on 
Its stem even before our eyes, and always has its thorns ; 
the brightest morning may conceal a thunderbolt ; and the 
stateliest oak is most in danger of being riven by the licrht- 
ning. Oh, let our highest, noblest, fondest hopes be fixed 
on God, and they will never disappoint us. 

"I saw brother Chester, but he did not engage to attend 
the meeting on Friday evening at your house. Possibly some 
other members of the seminary may be there. I expect to 
hear Mr. Somerville speak this afternoon in behalf of the 
society for promoting the gospel among seamen." 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



43 



TO THE SAME. 

« New York, June IQth, 1821. 

" May the present sabbath bring rest, and joy, 

and peace, and strength to my soul. I expect to sit again 
at the table of our dying, risen, reigning Redeemer, in Dr. 
Romeyn's church. Qh, that I may see the King in his 
beauty, and be feasted with the provisions of his house. 
How much we stand in need of heavenly food. We are 
daily careful to provide for the body, but how our souls 
famish for the bread of life. What do we more than 
others'? What are we more than others? And then to 
think what we ought to be. We, upon whom God has 
lavished so many favours ; we, whom his providence has 
lately so tenderly affected; we, who profess to link our 
earthly career with the cause of Christ, with the glory 
of God; we, who expect to spend our lives and to yield 
up our breath in the promotion of Zion's interests, and for 
the honour of Zion's King, — oh, what manner of persons 
ought we to be? Let us, in the strength of Jesus, break off 
our fetters, and rise above the world, and live nobly inde- 
pendent of its opinions and practices. Whatever others do 
let us serve the Lord, with our life, our health, our comforts, 
our influence, with all our talents, and with all our strength. 
Wherever we are, let the light of our godly example shine. 
Let us improve every opportunity of visiting the chamber of 
sickness, of kneehng around the bed of the dying, of instruct- 
ing the ignorant, of reclaiming the wanderer, and of soothing 
the sufferer. 

" While thus active in the cause of Christ, and endeavour- 
ing to promote the everlasting welfare of others, let us not 
neglect our own souls. Oh, let us dig deep, and be firmly 
established on the Rock of ages. Let us cultivate more and 
more communion with God, and learn the temper and dis- 



44 



MEMOIR OF THE 



position of the heavens. Then we can enter with confidence 
on th6 uncertainties of life, assured that God will do all things 
well. Then death will only interrupt our songs for a night, 
and we shall resume them with our immortal powers in a 
brighter world, on that unchanging morning that ushers in 
an everlasting day. Oh, to-day may we mingle our notes 
with the notes of cherubim and seraphim, and with all the 
armies of light, and all our friends who have died in the 
Lord, around God's throne. May we catch something of 
their ardour, and zeal, and love, and may we have large 
antepasts of heavenly joy, and drink and refresh our souls 
with the river of Hfe that flows from the throne of God." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Princeton, July 2d, 1821. 

" You are aware, my dear A., that I received your letter 
directed to New York ; it came to hand on Thursday morn- 
ing. — We have not really commenced business yet, as this 
is the first Monday of the month ; and as Wednesday will 
be the anniversary of our country's independence, we shall 
not do much until Thursday, I should go to Allentown and 
Trenton, Tuesday evening and Wednesday, were it not for 
an essay that calls imperiously for my attention. 

" My health has improved since my return. I sincerely 
think, as far as tranquillity of mind is concerned, I have 
never been so well situated for application. Oh, to be as- 
sured, (nay, I trust you are already assured,) and know, by 
happy experience, that there is an unutterable sweetness in 
feeling that you are in the hands of God, an omnipresent, 
omnipotent God ; and that although he holds up the planets 
and measures eternity, yet his arm never sinks down ex- 
hausted, but directs and guards the meanest insect that 
crawls upon his footstool. This God is our God, and we 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



45 



will praise him ; we will devote ourselves to his service, and 
he will be our guide even unto death. 

" What is fortune, and what is fame, when placed in the 
scale against the Christian's duties, hopes, and prospects ! 
How affecting, to see beings upon whose brow are drawn 
traces of a mortal and an immortal nature, bestowing all 
their thoughts and wishes upon trifles of a day, and making 
no provision for eternity! 

" If we differ from such, it is by the grace of God we 
are what we are. Let us manifest sincere gratitude to God 
for his goodness to us, by endeavouring to persuade others 
to become partakers of the same goodness and abounding 
grace. 

" In attempting to Hve more to the glory of God, we shall 
do well to maintain an holy, hourly watchfulness over our 
thoughts and affections. By thinking more of heaven and 
heavenly things, and by spending more time in self-exami- 
nation and prayer, we shall, by the blessing of God our Fa- 
ther, cultivate more of a holy, heavenly frame. Earth and 
earthly things will sink in our estimation, and communica- 
tions of heavenly joy and peace, frequent and abundant, will 
flow into our souls, that will nourish them and invigorate 
them for enduring all the trials of life, and at last for endur- 
ing and enjoying the unveiled face of Him whom mortal eye 
hath not seen. 

" I shall not finish my sheet until after the Missionary 
Society meets this afternoon, as there may be some interest- 
ing intelligence of battles fought and victories won for King 
Immanuel. 

" P. M., 4 o'clock.^ — There has been less intelligence than 
I expected, and the most of it you have heard. One circum- 
stance of a revival that commenced at a wedding, in a Bap- 
tist church, and resulted in the conversion of several of the 
guests. Brother H. Pratt returned while we were in the 



46 



MEMOIR OF THE 



Society, and gave a few interesting facts respecting his mis« 
sionary labours this past vacation ; and his brother gave me 
some good news respecting Connecticut. 

" The United Foreign Missionary Society has lately been 
requested to find two missionaries, to go out with a colony 
of two hundred or three hundred persons, at the expense and 
under the protection of government, to settle at the mouth of 
Columbia river, that empties into the Pacific, in latitude about- 
46° north ; and to be sent out in the course of next year. 
And the Society itself wishes to send a missionary to take 
charge of the mission among the Seneca Indians, near 
Buffalo village. New York. Oh, this missionary cause is 
a glorious cause, it is the cause of Christ, it will prevail. 
The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, for 
his mouth hath spoken it. Let us think, and pray, and then 
we shall feel more on the subject ; and wherever in the church 
of Christ we may spend our days, let us be missionaries in 
earnest, determined to fight and to fall in our Master's cause. 

" You said in one of your letters that I appear to have no 
inward conflicts. You are mistaken. I only have not spoken 
of them. I may tell you hereafter some, to convince you 
that your trials are by no means peculiar." 

TO THE SAME. 

July 12th, 1821. 
" I wished to spend an hour with you last Sab- 
bath evening. I had a delightful day, and no doubt my en- 
joyment was heightened by the thought that you were seated 
at the table of the Lord, even admitted into the banqueting- 
house of the King of kings. My wicked heart, hardened by 
more than twenty years' transgression, was in some measure 
softened ; and, with an eye of faith, I trust I beheld our Sa- 
viour, looking down in all the tenderness of suffering sym- 
pathy, and in all the ardour of his unchanging love, pitying 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



47 



our weakness, healing our backslidings, and in his own name 
presenting our petitions at the throne of his Father and our 
Father, his God and our God. The language of my heart 
was, 

* Beg-one for ever mortal thing's, 
Thou mig-hty molehill earth, farewell/ 

Oh, the bliss of that moment, when we are enabled to rise 
above the things of time, and mounting upward in commu- 
nion, can leave the mists, clouds, and storms below, and 
breathe the atmosphere of heaven ! But alas, one short hour 
will often plunge us in gloom again. Yet notwithstanding 
my unfaithfulness, the week thus far has been a pleasant 
one. Oh, to love God more and serve him better ! I hope 
you are walking in the light of his countenance, and that in 
the multitude of your thoughts his comforts are the dehght 
of your soul. 

" I do not know when it will be in my power to see you. 
My health is not good ; that is to say, I feel an unpleasant 
weakness when the days are warm and duties arduous ; but 
you need not apprehend illness when I am silent. I shall 
always indulge the melancholy, painful pleasure, of telling 
you all my sorrows and my joys ; and let our intercourse be 
such that the review of it will be sweet, and will mingle with 
the anguish that kneels at the grave the glorious hope that 
triumphs in the resurrection. My warmest, highest esteem 
for Mrs. H. I am glad you can beguile for her many a 
lonely hour. Never indulge a melancholy that cankers every 
comfort, but exhort her also to stay herself on God." 

July 22d. Still the goodness of God is continued as the 
moments of my life ; how many blessings he crowds into 
my cup ! What do I deserve, and what do I want ? Surely 
I deserve nothing but his displeasure and his unmingled 
wrath ; and as for my wants, I can almost say I want no- 



48 



MEMOIR OF THE 



thing but gratitude for his unnumbered mercies. I long for 
more love, more zeal, more entire devotedness of heart to God. 
With temporal comforts my cup runneth over, but oh how 
much leanness in my soul. How little of my time do I en- 
joy the sensible presence of God, and that burning zeal for 
his honour and his cause which I so much desire. And I 
will praise him, that he ever permits me to call him mine* 
I will rejoice, that he affords me any evidence that I have 
been born again, and grants me so many kind expressions of 
his everlasting love. Oh, my soul, in his strength march 
humbly but boldly on. I must walk by faith ; it is my hea- 
venly Father's will. And if he is pleased to afford me some 
occasional, transient glimpses of his face, I should not mur- 
mur, but adore. Oh, blessed Jesus, throw around me thine 
everlasting arms, and they will secure me from all the ills of 
life and fears of death. Oh, Holy Spirit, be pleased to take 
up thine abode in my heart, and sway all my affections, and 
wean them from the world. I do feel grateful for diseases, 
and infirmities, and providences, which admonish me to set 
my house in order, for death may be near, and for faith 
which points to a better, brighter world. 

TO MR. H. D., OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

August 17th, 1821. 

" I received yours by Mr. G., and should have written 
before this time, had I not supposed you were on your visit 
to Beverly. I could not suppress the sympathetic tear, when 
I learned the cause of your journey. But the first thought, 
* it is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good,' silenced 
every murmur. Oh, our heavenly Father is so kind, he 
mingles so much mercy with the cup of sorrow, that we can 
scarce taste its bitterness. 

" I did hope you might be induced to write me while on 
your journey, but I am aware that the fatigue and necessary 



REV. .TOSErH SANFORD. 



49 



confusion of travelling unfits one for writing. I hope by 
this time you have returned, with rich experience of the good- 
ness and the sparing, healing mercy of God. We have a 
safe retreat and a quiet resting place beneath the spreadings 
of the covenant of grace, to lean on the bosom of our Saviour, 
to cast all our cares upon him, to commit our dearest, mortal 
and immortal concerns to his management. Oh, what a 
blessed privilege ! And then to call him our Saviour, in all 
his fulness ! To feel the eternal Spirit influencing our lives 
and sanctifying our natures, dwelling in our sinful hearts — - 
to call God our Father, with the confidence, and affection, 
and humility of a child, — oh, these are some of the richest 
blessings of the new covenant, earnests of coming glory. 

" I know I am addressing one who can understand me, one 
who is by no means a stranger to these exercises ; whose 
heart still holds in warm remembrance many blessed seasons 
when the rock within seemed to be completely melted, and 
to pour itself out like water ; when the sweet tears of peni- 
tence could flow ; when the soul seemed to rise above the 
fogs, and clouds, and storms of life, and to breathe the air of 
paradise. Surely such a one will not, cannot murmur at the 
afflictive hand of God. It is a blessed thing that we are ad- 
monished of our frailty ; to feel the body, a frail tenement 
of a rebellious soul, tottering to fall ; to feel pains, and dis- 
eases, and infirmities, pointing us to a better world, and 
warning us to 'set our house in order;' to be called by 
the death of friends to quit our hold upon the world, and to 
be warned by the disappointment of our expectations and the 
prostration of our hopes, that this is not our home, and thus 
to be induced to lay up provision for passing over Jordan ; 
to cultivate the disposition of the heavenly inhabitants ; to 
learn the song of Moses and the Lamb, and have our hearts 
and voices tuned to join that concert ; to plume, and spread, 
and try our pinions, in preparation for our heavenward flight 

5 



50 



MEMOIR OF THE 



— these, these are our blessings and our privileges. Let us 
listen to the voice that invites us home to glory. 

" Excuse me for running on so long at random ; I was 
not aware how much of my sheet I had occupied ; and please 
take a hint from it to write on at random long enough to fill 
your paper. I think the excellence of letter-writing is to 
imagine we are in the society of our friends, and addressing 
them orally. And now and then I am so fortunate as to 
forget for some time to mail a letter, feeling that I have com- 
municated all I have to say to my friend. 

" The weather is extremely warm ; the thermometer at 92° 
and 94° for several days. My health fails during the warm 
season, as usual. Were it near the end of our session, I 
would visit Ballston Spa for a few weeks. But our studies 
are very important, and besides, fortunately, there is one 
other impediment of a serious nature. However, I hope to 
see you all in health and happiness by the first of October, 
or before ; and though 1 may be utterly unable to liquidate 
any debt, yet I will endeavour to increase none but that of 
gratitude. My kindest love to Mrs. D. and all friends, as 
though named. May all the blessings of the new covenant 
be yours ; and may Jesus, Jehovah, encircle you both and 
all in his everlasting arms." 

TO Miss A. J., OF TRENTON, N. J. 

''August I8th, 1821. 

" May I never think so much of the creature that 

God will see fit to remove it, to bring my affections to him- 
self. Oh, that our esteem for each other, as it rises and 
strengthens, may become more and more sanctified. That 
we may keep constantly in view the object of our being, not 
to live, and love, and enjoy domestic bliss, but to glorify God, 
to live for God and to him, to devote ourselves to the gospel 
of Christ Jesus, and through all the toils, hardships, poverty 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOKD. 



61 



and persecutions we may meet in our course, we must press 
onward, fighting to fall, and falling to conquer. Study your 
own heart in the light of God's word ; cultivate more and 
more intercourse with heaven ; study the precepts, promises, 
doctrines of the Bible, and by all the means in your power 
endeavour to prepare yourself to become the wife of one who 
hopes and determines to know nothing but Jesus Christ and 
him crucified ; who hopes to follow Jesus through good and 
bad report ; and who, drawing the sword to fight the battles 
of the Lord, must throw away the scabbard and die on the 
field. I trust you will be the means of strengthening my 
hands, of encouraging my heart, of trimming the lamp of 
domestic piety, of dividing the sorrows and increasing the 
joys of life. See 1 Thess. v. 16—23." 

September. The same unvaried course of blessings attend 
me every step. God is good to me, who deserve no good at 
his hand. Oh, were he as unmindful of me as I often am 
of him, how soon should I fall and die! The throbbing 
heart, the heaving lungs, would cease to move ; the crimson 
fluid would freeze in my veins ; all the fimctions of life would 
at once be suspended, and this curious, complicated, frail 
machine fall to ruin. And on a large scale of observation, 
were the nice adjustment of all the elements of the atmosphere 
to be neglected, how fatal to animal life ! Were the degrees 
of heat in summer or cold in winter less nicely arranged and 
apportioned, how miserable would they render the inhabitants 
of the earth. Should he neglect, suspend, or abrogate the 
laws by which the universe is governed, continents would be 
scorched or deluged, systems would be at once dismembered. 

« Earth would, unbalanced, from her orbit fly, 
planets and suns run lawless through the sky. 
And ruling- angels from their seats be hurl'd. 
Being on being wreckM, and world on world." 



52 



MEMOIR OF THE 



But God reigns over all ; he made all by his power ; gov- 
erns all by his providence ; inspects it at a glance, and cap 
crush it at a word. But he overlooks not the meanest crea- 
ture that crawls upon the earth ; and he upholds alike, by 
his almighty power, the ephemera of a summer's morning 
and the cherubim around his throne. Oh God, how good 
art thou ! I am not overlooked nor forgotten, but all my 
wants are supplied, my cup is filled with blessings, my days 
are crowned with loving kindnesses. Oh, add to all thy 
other gifts a grateful heart: that must come from thee. 
Enable me to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, through 
whom all these blessings are conferred ; and may he be in- 
deed my Saviour. Oh, destroy the power of my indwelling 
corruptions, and sanctify my nature, and be my covenant- 
keeping God. 

TO Miss A. J., OF TEENTON, N. J. 

" September 3d, 1821. 
" It storms most tremendously ; the rain beats against my 

window so that I can scarcely think of any thing All the 

elements of nature are God's agents; heaven, earth and hell 
are distinct provinces of his empire; and if he is our Father 
and our Friend, what have we to fear? 

" Yesterday was a profitable Sabbath to my soul. I have 
had much calmness and peace in believing, and the experi- 
ence of every day strengthens my conviction, that the more 
we draw our happiness from heavenly fountains, the richer 
and the more constant and abundant will be our supply. 
God can make his creatures happy, and he alone. Lodge 
me in the darkest corner of the earth, on the loneliest island 
of the sea ; tear away every thing that is dear to the human 
heart, and break off all the tenderest ligaments of the soul, 
I can be happy in God, ' in whose presence is fulness of joy, 
and at whose right hand are pleasures for ever more !' And 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



53 



yet I can relish the society of those I love. Let us lay the scene 
of all our schemes of happiness beyond the swellings of Jor- 
dan, beyond its farthest surge-washed shore. In that happy 
land where storms never beat, chilling winds never blow, 
disease never spreads its ravages, distance never separates 
beings closely entwined, where prospects are never blasted. 
No intervening cloud hides the face of Jesus, but all is peace, 
and joy, and heaven, and immortality. 

May we be as peculiarly pious as we are peculiarly pri- 
vileged ; and whether we are to live long or short lives, fill 
stations of eminent usefulness or to sink down into insignifi- 
cance, let us cling to the cross of Jesus, cast our anchor 
within the vale, and we shall outride all the storms of life 
and make the port of peace. 

"Amid this elemental strife how many miserable beings 
may be struggling for life upon the wave, but the struggle 
soon is over — the mountain billow dashes over them and 
they are seen no more. Oh God, have mercy on the beings 
thou hast made, especially those upon the mighty deep. And 
may those ' whose home is on the mountain wave,' and who 
see so many of thy wonders in the mighty waters, become 
thine in the covenant of grace. 

" What are you reading ? wish you could commit Prac- 
tical Piety to memory." 

TO MRS. J., OF TRENTON, N. J. 

" Princeton, Sept, Sth, 1821. 
" I take this opportunity of acknowledging the receipt of 
your kind, affectionate letter by Mr. H. It afforded me much 
pleasure, although at that time 1 was expecting a line from 
another hand. 

" I sincerely thank you for all the important hints and 
kind feelings your letter contained. And I hope I shall profit 
by the one, and never become undeserving of the other. 

5* 



'54 MEMOIR OF THE | 

" Accustomed as I have been to watch the leadings of a 
kind providence from my very childhood, and sometimes 
enabled to feel the sweet meltings of gratitude to the God of 
all my mercies, I cannot describe the sensations of my heart 
when recollecting my first introduction to your family, and 
especially when I thought I had found in its bosom that 
friend for whom I oft had prayed, and in regard to whom 
the confidence of my soul for years has been * Jehovah Jireh,' 
the Lord will provide. 

" God be praised for all his goodness, and may the lives 
that he has made his care be devoted entirely to him. We 
are young adventurers, ere long to enter (should our lives be 
spared) on the uncertain, tempestuous sea of active life. Oh, 
to begin aright ! It is the desire of my soul that Jesus Christ 
might reign in us and around us, over all our feelings and 
aflfections, all our plans and projects, over our whole lives ; 
and that he would enable us to glorify him in death, and 
finally receive us to himself, there to recognise and consum- 
mate that friendship in the heavens which in his providence, 
and under his approbation, I trust we have been permitted to 
commence on earth. 

" I received the letter you mailed on Wednesday about ten 
o'clock the same evening. 

" Our session is drawing to a close, and we are reviewing 
for examination, two weeks from Monday next. My health 
is good, and I never hailed the approach of autumn with 
more pleasure. The flight of time always associates melan- 
choly ideas. Oh, to be always ready for the close of life, 
that death may not surprise us. 

« May God bless you abundantly, and all that are dear 
to you." 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



55 



TO MISS A. J., OF TRENTON, N. J. 

"New York, Sept. 29th, 1S21, 
' " You will receive this on the morning of the holy Sab- 
bath. Oh, that your soul may have much peace in God, 
and may be filled with the strong consolations of the gospel. 
I expect to spend the Sabbath here. God grant it may in- 
deed be a Sabbath. Oh, how important to keep up inter- 
course with heaven. 

" On Thursday evening I attended Dr. Spring's lecture. 
He spoke upon the subject of death, from these words, ' Death 
hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.' He had 
just seen the remains of a man committed to the earth who 
only twenty-four hours before was in the vigour of Hfe and 
health. The same evening two cases of the yellow fever 
had been reported ; and with all these circumstances to affect 
the mind, he asked the solemn question, ' Are you prepared 
to die V a question that ought to be settled before we sleep, 
for our sleep may be the sleep of death, the sleep of ages. 

" Oh, how fast the population of the earth is changing — 
how fast the king of terrors carries on the work of desola- 
tion ! How important to be always ready, since at such an 
hour as we think not the Son of Man may come." 

TO Z. S., ESQ. 

''Philadelphia, Nov. Ath, 1821. 

" I am now spending a few days of relaxation in this city, 
before the beginning of our winter session, and it affords me 
the opportunity of resuming my correspondence with you. 

" It is a relief to suspend the routine of even important 
duties, and hold intercourse with those we love, and whom 
we hope, when the changes of life are past and its duties 
done, to meet in heaven and spend an everlasting Sabbath. 
It will surely make our heaven the sweeter to enter upon its 



56 



MEMOIR OF THE 



glories after having struggled with temptation and out spi- 
ritual foes, and with the duties of a life of active toil in the 
cause of our Redeemer. 

" You have often mentioned, in conversation and in your 
communications, your dissatisfaction with the active duties 
of your profession, even with much of the necessary inter- 
course with men of the world. I am becoming more and 
more convinced that we can carry our religion into every 
situation in Hfe, and into all our official duties. No doubt 
we live far below our privileges, and are ourselves the means 
of beclouding our sky and darkening our path. Oh, when 
shall we learn to live near to God, and maintain a constant, 
holy watchfulness, lest we should grieve away the Holy 
Spirit by which we are sanctified ? It seems almost a year 
since I heard from you last. How is your family ? Does 
God continue to shed his rich spiritual blessings around you 
with an unsparing hand ? Is he giving you, now and then, 
a glimpse of the promised land, refreshing you by a breeze 
of the air of Paradise? Does your love to God flow in a 
deeper, broader channel, and in a more pure, rapid and con- 
stant stream? Oh, do you not long to climb the everlasting 
hills, and there stand above this atmosphere of death, and 
look down, with gratitude to your Deliverer, and with joy 
for your deliverance, upon the world of sin and suffering, of 
darkness and storms you have left behind you, and upward 
to an endless career of glory, of which, in this narrow ves- 
tibule of our existence, we can form no conception ? Well, 
the hour draws nigh, the journey shortens, the conflict will ere 
long be over, the grave — the home of ages — will surrender 
up its tenantry of dust, and the glorified body and the purified 
ransomed spirit will enter on the bliss of heaven. But, Oh! 
to be found in the attitude of faithful servants when our 
Lord shall come. To have done something for God, some- 



REV JOSEPH SANFORD. 



57 



thing for souls, something for the Redeemer's kingdom, and 
then our ephemeral existence will not be spent in vain. 

" I hope to hear from you soon. Have your sons given 
up their studies for the ministry? I wish F. was prepared 
tQ come to this seminary." 

November \lth, 1821. After an interval of several 
weeks I am again permitted to return to this beloved institu- 
tion with some sweet sense of God's goodness. He has 
made my life his care. He has lengthened my span, filled 
my cup with blessings, given me kind friends, and profitable 
enemies, to confer favours which the partiality or the tender- 
ness of my friends prevent them from conferring. Above 
all, he has given me a Bible which is filled with the record 
of a Saviour's love, and permitted me to hope that that Sa- 
viour is mine; and all this for what? That my final con- 
demnation may be aggravated, and that 1 should become 
doubly a reprobate by sinning against all these mercies ? I 
cannot think so, and yet it may be. Capernaum was exalted 
high by privileges and cast down to hell for abusing them. 

" Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Make 
me wise unto salvation. 

TO MR. H. T). OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

''Princeton, Nov. 20th, 1821. 
" I have been unable, ever since ray return from Ballston, 
to find a moment to devote to you. But this afternoon I 
studied myself into so violent a head-ache, that I feel it my 
duty to stay out of recitation, and shall have to beg your 
pardon for employing the exhausted energies of my mind 
and body to discharge the duties and the delights of friend- 
ship. 

" As for my general health, it was never better than at 
present, and my head-ache is only the temporary effect of 



58 



MEMOIR OF THE 



rather too close application. Indeed it is a season of unu- 
sual health in the seminary. Your acquaintances and 
friends are all well, and all are pursuing the arduous, though 
interesting and important studies which, by the blessing of 
our heavenly Father, will qualify them to preach the ever- 
lasting Gospel of God our Saviour. My studies are more 
pressing, as well as more important than they were last 
year. But, ' I can do all things through Christ strength- 
ening me.' Oh, that every thought, and every faculty of 
my nature, may bear upon it, ' Holiness to the Lord,'' It af- 
fords me much comfort and encouragement to know I have 
so many praying friends. 

" If my health be spared I do not now expect to visit you 
again until I have finished my studies. And before that 
time, you, and all that are dear to you, may have entered i 
into rest. Oh, what a changing, fleeting, dying world. A 
few days ago we heard of the death of one of our brethren, 
(M. Searle), in Indiana. This morning, by the Recorder, 
we have heard of Mr. Newell's* death, and also Mrs. Poor's, 
both useful in their different stations, and in their proper 
spheres. But God is on the throne. The cause of missions 
is his cause. It will prosper. ^Oh, pray that he would raise 
up more missionaries, that he would pour out the spirit of 
missions upon our churches, and that the full flood-tide of 
salvation might bear oflT upon its waves the ignorance, the 
darkness, the corruption, and the misery of the world. 

" May you all grow in grace, in usefulness, and in meet- 
ness for that world of glory. There, as « sinners saved by 
grace' may you meet your unworthy friend, and there, to- 
gether, may we sing the songs of the redeemed, and triumph 
in the fulness of God." 

* A missionary at Bombay. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



59 



TO Z. S., ESQ. 

" Princeton, Dec. 2d, 1821. 
" You will perceive by the date of this letter that this is 
the Sabbath of the Lord. How I should like to sit down 
with you at your fire-side and talk of the goodness of our 
kind heavenly Father. Such a subject would befit the sa- 
credness of this day, and indeed it should be the theme of 
every day. 

* When all thy mercies, O my God, 

My rising soul surveys ; 
Transported with the view, I'm lost 

In wonder, love, and praise.' 

*' The whole hymn expresses the feelings of my soul, and 
I have sometimes thought it might be one of the songs of the 
upper temple hereafter. 

" Tell me, my friend, if my experience is peculiar. Some- 
times, when no other consideration will move me to think of 
God's goodness, my base ingratitude will melt me down. 
He has healed me when I have been sick, protected and de- 
livered me when in danger. He has resolved my doubts, 
sanctified my affections, supplied my wants, raised me up 
kind friends, generous benefactors, profitable enemies. Af- 
forded me the means of education and the prospect of some 
usefulness. Oh, that I had a heart to love him more and 
to serve him better. But he will give his Spirit to those who 
desire it. Oh, that his renewing and transforming influences 
might descend and rest upon me continually. I bless God 
for praying friends. It is not an idle, fashionable request I 
make when I desire to be remembered in their supplications. 
No, far from it. I do feel the need of their prayers now, 
and shall need them, if possible, still more if I am spared to 
complete my preparatory studies. 



60 



MEMOIR OF THE 



" We have upwards of seventy students here from vari- 
ous parts of the Union. I hope the spirit of missions is in- 
creasing here as well as in all our churches. Mr. Ward's 
remark cannot be repeated too often. < That the spirit of 
missions must evangelize the church before the church can 
evangelize the world.' If we think and pray more we shall 
feel more on this subject. 

" I regret to hear that Mrs. L. is in poor health. I had 
hoped her residence at Saratoga would have been the means 
of establishing her health. ' God seeth not as man seeth,' 
and he will do what he please with his own, and blessed be 
his holy name. Oh, for grace to inscribe ' holiness to the 
Lord,' upon all we have, friends, health, comforts, privileges. 
A line from your hand and heart is always like cool water 
to a thirsty soul. I am, indeed, happy to reciprocate your 
affection, and do believe it will be recognized and consum- 
mated in eternity." 

December 2d. Almost to the close of another year. How 
is mercy written upon all the dealings of my God towards 
me. The record of each succeeding day is only a renewal 
and recapitulation of his goodness. 

" Why is my heart so far fi'om thee, 

My God, my chief dehght? 
Why are my thoug-hts no more with thee 

By day, no more by nig-ht?'* 

Oh, let quickening, sanctifying grace, come into my soul; 
revive me by thy sacred influences. Strengthen the princi- 
ple of spiritual life within me, if it has ever been planted 
there. Warm and animate all that is cold; sanctify all 
that is unholy ; cleanse all that is impure. Give me joy 
and peace in believing, and keep me under thy renewing, 
restraining power. Condescend to take up thine abode within 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



61 



me. Take of the things of the Father and show them unto 
me. Rest upon me as a spirit of supplication, of illumina- 
tion, of consolation, and may I cultivate more and more of 
the spirit of the heavens, hold more intercourse with heaven, 
have more deadness to the world, and a stronger, keener 
relish for heavenly enjoyments. May I mortify the flesh 
with its affections and lusts, and live soberly, righteously, 
and godly in this present world. Redeeming the time, know- 
ing that the days are few and evil. .> 
December 16th. I desire this evening to record my grati- 
tude, blessed Saviour, that thou didst hear my prayer and hast 
manifested thyself to me, this day, in the breaking of bread; 
and that, notwithstanding my unworthiness and wandering 
thoughts and cold affections, thou, blessed Spirit, didst con- 
descend, in mercy, to touch my heart. Oh, renew the im- 
pression. Cleanse my heart, and then claim it ; and may 
it be a temple for thee ; and may I live with a holy watchful- 
ness lest I should grieve thee to depart. Oh, may rich, free, 
sovereign, almighty grace keep me from falling, keep me in 
the path of duty ; and after thus solemnly renewing the oath 
of my allegiance to thee, may I ever feel that I am wholly 
thine ; and may I live for thee alone. 

" Do thou assist a feeble worm, 
The great eng-agement to perform ; 
Thy grace can full assistance lend. 
And on that grace I dare depend." 

TO MISS A. J. OF TRENTON, N. J. 

" Princeton, Dec. 2Ath, 1821. 
" I feel every day more and more that I am not my own, 
but the Lord's ; and every thing must bend to his sei-vice 
and to the great object before me. I have been thinking, 
this morning, on the shortness of hfe. How soon all our 
plans and projects will be interrupted by the King of Ter- 

6 



62 



MEMOIR OF THE 



rors ! How insignificant (comparatively) is every thing not, 
connected with the glory of God ! Nothing here is worth 
our attention but religion. 'Tis but a little while, and all 
this busy, bustling race of beings that now occupy the the- 
atre of life, will be sleeping beneath the clods of the valley. 
All our arduous preparations for the gospel ministry, even 
with the ordinary length of human life, will be only for the 
exertions of a few years. Then death will end the strife, 
close the warfare, and set the seal of eternity to our destinies 
and our hopes. These little, fleeting moments make up the 
time in which heaven is to be secured ; in which God is to 
be glorified by our activity and zeal ; in which sinners are 
to be saved. 

* Then let us catch the transient hour, 

Improve each moment as it flies ; 
Life's a short summer, man a flower. 

He dies! — alas! how soon he dies/ 

" Present my particular regards to Miss S. I regret that 
I cannot avail myself of this opportunity of seeing her. How- 
ever, I will hope to see her in Philadelphia. Ever since you 
informed me of the late loss Mr. N. has sustained, I am 
more anxious than ever to visit Philadelphia. I know they 
have the strong consolations and supports of the Gospel, and 
fondly trust they have a blood-bought title to an inheritance 
* that never fades away' in heaven. 

"Brother M. presents his best wishes to the family. 
Please give my kind regards to all. We warmly express 
the compliments of the season, though in anticipation, and 
wish you all the happiness that flows from the sweet inter- 
course of beloved Christian friends, with all the immortal 
hopes that religion presents and secures. 

" May God have you always in his holy keeping, and 
prepare you for great usefulness." 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



63 



TO THE SAME. 

" Princeton, Dec, 27th, 1821. 

«' I felt confident that you would have a happy little cir- 
cle on the 25th. 

« You are aware that all your good Trenton people are 
rather anti-Presbyterian for celebrating the 25th of Decern- 
ber as the birthday of our blessed Redeemer. It is very 
far from being certain that that is the day, so far that few 
will speak with confidence on the subject. And, though I 
highly approve of religious services, on almost all those 
days that are called holidays, yet I am not prepared to say 
I would celebrate the 25th of December any more than I 
would the 25th of January, or the 4th of July, or the 1st of 
January, as times peculiarly sacred. 

« Next Tuesday will commence the year, and the month 
(of course) ; and, as it is a day when our society for inquiry 
on the subject of missions has a regular meeting, and as I 
hold the office of First Corresponding Secretary, and have 
some reports to make, it will be my duty to be present. I 
should be glad to begin the year with you ; but as that will 
probably not be practicable, let us regard it as a day of re- 
newed and special dedication of ourselves to God— adoring 
and thanking him for the past, and solemnly giving ourselves 
to him for the future. Let us thus enter upon another year, 
big with the eternal destinies of thousands, and perhaps the 
last year we are to number on the records of the living. 
Soon our accounts for the expiring year will be closed, sealed 
up for eternity. Oh, let us see well to it, that they are all 
cancelled by the blood of Jesus, and that they carry no sin 
unrepented of to the court of heaven against us. And while 
we stand upon the ' grave of the year,' and weep, and adore 
at the recollections of the past, oh, let us remember, that in 
that grave lie the mortal and immortal hopes of millions 



64 



MEMOIR OF THE 



who entered upon the year with hopes as high, and pros- 
pects as bright, and as precious as ours. And so let us 
breathe a heart-directed prayer, that God would keep and 
guide our feeble bark, while we launch it upon the ocean of 
eternal scenes. And while we weep at the wrecks of hu- 
man happiness and human hopes, that cover the ocean of the 
past, let us maintain an unshaken trust in God, who sits in 
high authority over all these desolations, and has brought 
them about for his own glory; and who will be our God for 
ever and ever, and our guide even unto death. Let Jesus be 
our friend, our Saviour, and all will be well, all will be safe. 
Then no matter how short or how tempestuous the voyage 
of life; Jesus will be our pilot, and our port will be sure. 
And though the next year should prove our last, though we 
should not see another summer's sun, nor the flowerets 
of another spring; nay, though the blasts of the present 
winter should howl over the frozen clods that hide our ashes 
from the world, yet we will hope in God. There is a world 
that opens bright and glorious, beyond the darkness and the 
gloom of the sepulchre ; there is a voice sweeter than the 
melody of angels that proclaims ' a rest for the people of 
God.' May God give us grace to secure that rest, and to 
his name shall be the glory." 

December SOth. The last Sabbath of the year. The year 
is almost gone. How have I misimproved every Sabbath, 
sinned every hour, forgotten God, and loved and served the 
creature ; and still I have been spared ; spared amidst un- 
numbered wrecks of human hope, amidst groans and graves, 
and *' miseries that groan for the grave's shelter." Lord 
reform my spared life ; may it be more entirely thine. May 
I love to commit all the dark, unknown of futurity to thee. 
Lord Jesus, grant me a stronger faith. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



65 



TO THE SAME. 

Princeton, Jan. Sdj 1822, 
«' Your letter was peculiarly acceptable, as well as pecu- 
liarly excellent, on Tuesday morning. I'ts length, though a 
very considerable thing in its favour, was not the most en- 
dearing characteristic. Nothing, dear A., affords me more 
pleasure than indications of deeper spirituality, and more de- 
votedness to God. Oh, that this new year, upon which we 
have already entered, may be a year of much growth in 
grace, much victory over sin, much increase in the know- 
ledge of God's word and character, and much knowledge 
of our own hearts and characters. And may every day 
bring us nearer and nearer to God, raise us higher and 
higher above the world, give us more and more energy in 
our spiritual conflicts, and dispose us to sing from the heart, 

* Oh, to grace how great a debtor.* 

" We have a missionary meeting in the afternoon ; some 
cheering intelligence of the progress of the Redeemer's 
kingdom. A letter was read from brother H. P., mentioning 
the storm encountered at sea, on his passage from Balti- 
more to Savannah, &£C. 

« Brother L. reached Charleston in four days from New 
York, and is preaching to the blacks in the city. 

« It would be grateful to my feelings, when the duties of 
the day are over, to kneel with you before the dear domes- 
tic altar, and offer to our kind and Heavenly Father, the 
effusions of our grateful hearts. 

" But God is making our lives his constant care, and 
granting us many blessings, which we forget to acknow- 
ledge—our lives, health, reason, kind friends, food and rai- 
ment, the privileges of the Gospel and hopes full of immor- 
tality. May he give us gratitude, and sanctify all our en 
joyments and hopes, and use us for his service." 

6* 



66 



MEMOIR OF THE 



TO THE SAME. 



''January 15th, 1822. 
" My health wa§ never better; and, without doubt, all the 
better for my walk yesterday. I feel uneasy about Mr. 
Armstrong's health. Oh, may God restore and long pre- 
serve it. Oh, how many things to remind us that 

* Oiu' Hfe is ever on the wing-, 
And death is ever nigh.' 

" And he may now be filling his quiver with arrows to 
destroy some life we hold most dear. Oh, that our lamps 
might be ever trimmed, and burning, and we always ready." 

TO THE SAME. 

"Princeton, Feb. 19th, 1822. 

" In the review of my last visit, the only thing I have to 
regret is that we did not take more time in the family, and 
alone, to converse on a subject that ought to lie nearest our 
hearts. Oh, it is more important than any thing else, that 
the business of our souls be attended to; for we know not 
how soon, nor how suddenly, we may be called to the eter- 
nal world. When I arrived here on Saturday, I found Mr. 
T. extremely ill. He was taken on Friday with a severe 
chohc, which continued for six or seven hours with the most 
maescribable severity, and was followed by an inflammation; 
and now it is thought that in a few hours he will be in eter- 
nity. While I am writing these words I can hear the ^asp 
of death, although he is in another story of the building, as 
his room is directly over the one that is adjoining to mine. 
His convulsive groans pierce my very heart. 
^ « Oh, to be always ready. To have our lamps trimmed, 
lights burning, loins girt, work done ! Oh, God, may I be 
prepared for that solemn hour. Mr. T. said, a little while 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



67 



ago, ' No father, no sister here.' His mother is not hving; 
and these are, probably, some of his keenest recollections, 
that his friends are absent. Mr. Wilson, of the seminary, 
is distantly connected with him by the marriage of some 
of their friends. 

" How important it is that such solemn warnings should 
be improved. I have tried to imagine myself in his place. 

" Have we not reason to be alarmed when our love to 
God is growing cold, while the love of the creature is in- 
tense and ardent? Let us humble ourselves in the dust 
before him and confess our sinfulness; not that we love the 
creature so much, but for loving him so little. 

" It is a profitable exercise to take the holy law of God, 
as it is admirably exhibited and illustrated in the Larger 
Catechism, read it over with prayer to God for the influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit, that we may see more and more of 
its extent and spirituality, feel how it condemns us, and let 
it perform its office of driving us to Jesus Christ, who has 
fulfilled its every precept, and suffered its heaviest penalty 
^for us;^ yes, for us, if we are Christians. Oh, that his 
willingness to save may be a matter of faith, and not a mere 
matter of opinion. That we may have a living, operating, 
purifying faith on the blessed Redeemer, and that we may 
feel sensibly the influences of the Holy Comforter and Sanc- 
tifier in our souls, moulding every faculty, and every feel- 
ing into subjection to his sacred will. 

Wednesday morning. Mr. T. is still alive. His desire is 
for more light, and more resignation to the will of God. 
And that the * rod and staff'' of the ' Great Shepherd' of 
souls may comfort and support him through the ' darlc vaU 
ley.' 

" I shall not close this letter until evening. Saturday 
next is proposed as a day of special humiliation and prayer 



68 



MEMOIR OF THE 



to God. It is usual to observe such a day about the middle 
of the winter session. 

" I still love to remember twelve o'clock. Sometimes, on 
Saturdays and Wednesdays, our recitations interrupt ; but I 
always remember the hour, and love to send up the desires 
of my soul towards the throne of grace. 

" Wednesday evening. There is no change in Mr. T. 
for the better ; but Dr. V. C. thinks that if he should con- 
tinue in this state for thirty-six hours longer, there will be 
some hopes of his recovery. He has been in less pain all 
day than he was last evening. Then his hiccough and 
groans were enough to break almost any heart. Only a 
few are permitted to attend him, and those, generally, his 
particular friends. You will, doubtless, hear of the issue 
of his disease in two or three days without my writing." 

February 2^th, 1822. Almost two months of another 
year have gone. How imperceptibly have they fled ; but, 
oh, what events have they evolved. Death has removed one 
of our number* to the eternal world! "That conqueror 
of conquerors" and lord of desolation has made a breach in 
our ranks. Nothing can divert his aim ; youth, health, sci- 
ence, and even piety itself afford no security against his 
shafts. Oh, God, who givest life and takest it away, sanc- 
tify to us this afflictive providence. Unless thou dost bless 
it to us, we shall sink into a more awful stupidity, and be- 
come the readier and riper for a severer blow. Oh, may it 
be the means of arousing me to more activity. May the 
death scene ever live in my lively recollection, and influence 
all my future life. May I profit by the melting exhortations 
of our departed brother— by living nearer to God, more in 
constant preparation for death. I do desire to bless thee for 



* Mr. Turner, from Kentucky. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



69 



all that was consoling in the departure of our brother : that 
his faith was firm, and although he did not, at all times, en- 
joy as much light as he wished, yet that it pleased thee to 
chase away the clouds, and that we were permitted to hear 
his note of triumph and his shout of victory before his eyes 
closed in death. Oh, God, may the solemn lessons and ex- 
hortations he gave us, in his last moments, be the means of 
more usefulness than his life could have accomplished; and, 
as an individual, may I not only be quickened in duty, and 
be led deeper than ever into my own heart, but live always 
with my lamp trimmed and burning, loins girt, work done, 
and be ready for the coming of the Lord. 

Friday, March \st. A day of special humiliation and 
prayer. I have a long catalogue of sins to confess. Oh, 
God, enable me to forsake them. Faith and repentance are 
both thy gifts ; oh, bestow them upon me. I have reviewed, 
and endeavoured to renew, my covenant engagements to be 
the Lord's. One of a private nature, the other the public 
formula, adopted by the church. I have broken them many 
times ! Oh, God, if thou shouldst strictly mark my iniquity 
I must be condemned for ever. But, be pleased, through 
Jesus Christ, to accept of my imperfect and impure service, 
and own it as a surrender of myself, renewedly, to thee. I 
desire to be thine upon thine own terms ; to accept of sal- 
vation just as it is offered, freely, " without money and with- 
out price." I desire to bless thy name that I am shut up to this 
sweet necessity, that of myself "I have nothing to pay," 
though " I owe ten thousand talents." Enable me to accept 
thy salvation with all my heart, and may I exercise a living 
faith upon a living Saviour; and may I find comfort in this 
act of self-dedication while I live, and when I enter the 
^'swellings of Jordan" Oh, then may I feel the support 
of thine everlasting arms, and thy blessed presence, Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit. 



70 



MEMOIR OF THE 



TO MISS A. J. OF TRENTON, N. J. 

" March Ath, 1822. 

" We had a solemn season, on Saturday, in following the 
remains of our departed brother to the grave. It was judged 
advisable to defer the day of fasting till Friday last, the first 
day of the month. 

" You have, probably, heard the particulars of brother 
T.'s death, f cannot describe them to you now, if you have 
not, as the hour has come for me to carry my letter to the 
office. I can only say, he did not enjoy as much light and 
assurance of the favour of Christ as he could wish, though 
his faith in the promises and faithfulness of God remained 
firm to the last. We think, however, that the clouds cleared 
away, and that he caught a glimpse of glory before he ex- 
pired, for his countenance beamed with joy, and he exclaim- 
ed, 'Glory,' and afterward, ' My Jesus,' quivered on his 
dying lips. He gave us many solemn exhortations, and 
took a most affectionate and affecting leave of Drs. Alexan- 
der and Miller, Mr. Hodge and Dr. Vancleave. Dr. Miller 
has prepared an obituary notice; this you will probably 
see. 

" I hope and pray that this solemn providence may be 
blessed to us all. May we learn to work while the day 
lasts, and to listen to the voice from the grave, that tells us 
to set our house in order. And may our loins be girt, our 
work done, and we be thus waiting and watching for the 
coming of the Lord. 

" Nothing could afford me sincerer pleasure than to know 
that the candle of the Lord is shining brightly around you. 
May it continue to shine, and may you become more and 
more dead to the world, and more and more devoted to that 
Saviour who, I fondly hope and trust, has loved you and 
given himself for you. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



71 



" I think T can say, for one, I have been for several weeks 
learning new lessons on the humihating subject of the de- 
pravity of my heart, its hardness and its unbeUef ; though I 
could humbly hope, not without some sense of the greatness 
of the love that has provided a Redeemer for sinful men. 

* How glorious Is that rig-hteousness, 
That hides and cancels all our sins.' 

" Oh, for more love to God, more faith in him, more ac- 
tive devotedness to him, and for a more constant sense of his 
p resence. 

" The bell is this moment ringing for prayer meeting. 'Tis 
an interesting season. May this be Zion's favoured hour. 
May God hear the cries of a prostrate church, and have 
mercy upon Zion. May he enable us to prefer Zion to our 
chief joy. 

" There is a prospect of glorious things in New York. 
If they continue to become more and more interesting 1 shall 
hope to spend the most of the next vacation there, perhaps, 
after the General Assembly. 

TO THE SAME. 

'' Princeton, March IM, 1822. 
" I already feel the benefits of my ride to Trenton, and 
have quite got over all the unpleasant sensations it occa- 
sioned. 

»* I presume you will have a call from Mr. M'N. and Mr. 
C, two invalids of our class. 

" I was interrupted in my presumptuous strain by com- 
pany; and before my company retired, the horn was blown 
for recitation. And now, in about thirty minutes, it will 
blow again for prayers, (at five) ; then, in thirty minutes 
again, for tea ; and then, again, in thirty minutes, for the 
Theological Society (at six). This is the way our time goes 



72 



MEMOIR OF THE 



here. But every place has its peculiar interruptions. But 
all, all we have to do, in any situation, is to fill up present 
time with present duty, and in the midst of all the business 
and the bustle of the day, I can find many sweet moments 
to think of God. Oh, that I could improve them as I ought. 
How much could I then grow in grace! How near could I 
live to heaven ! How sweetly swift the hours would fly ! 
Oh, to be able to say, even should I kneel in anguish over 
the grave of my last earthly hope, ' My all is not laid here.' 

*• It is our glory, as well as our duty, to live for God, 
whom angels worship, and who governs all worlds. 

" In one week from next Sabbath, I expect to sit down 
again at the table of the Lord. May it be such a season as 
I have never enjoyed before — an antepast of the bliss of 
heaven. And yet I have scarcely a right to pray for such 
a season, I live so far below my privileges. God have mercy 
upon me, and keep me near himself! 

" I can give no interesting particulars of the state of things 
here ; indeed appearances are so delusive. But God is able 
to grant us all a blessing. New Haven is again gloriously 
refreshed from on high. 

" And how is it among you 1 Oh, that I could hear the 
glorious news of sinners born of God and for glory among 
you. The work in New York is going on, though I have 
heard no particulars." 

May 5th. On such a morning, at this season, it is gra- 
tifying to behold the heavens serene, and to see the sun 
shining in his strength, and to hear the commingled melody 
of all created nature — fields, floods and forests, with the notes 
of birds of every wing, rising up in a sinless concert to the 
great Eternal. On the contrary, the heavens are black with 
showers, and nature, though in her greenest robes, seems 
drenched in sorrow at the mute ingratitude of man. Oh, 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



73 



how aptly does this picture represent the state of my heart. 
On this blessed morning, when every bosom should be peace 
and every thought should be praise, I find a load of sin press- 
ing upon my conscience and drinking up my spirits ; and the 
language of my soul seems to be, " Oh that my head were 
waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears," that I might weep 
day and night over a sense of my sinfulness and my ingrati- 
tude. Oh, may the showers descend, and may they be floods 
of genuine sorrow for sin. Let them wash away the dust of 
sin and death that has settled upon my soul. Lord, may I 
hold sweet intercourse with thee to-day ; let my heart and 
hopes revive, let my devout affections rise and soar. Let 
faith take stronger hold, let hope have brighter prospects. 
Let the world recede from my contemplations, let earth sink 
down into insignificance, let heavenly views and heavenly 
glories pour in upon my soul, let the melody of angels and 
of saints made perfect fall upon my delighted ear, and let my 
heart be tuned to join the concert. Glory be to the Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost, for such high, such blessed hopes, 
even in this world of sin and death. Father in heaven, glo- 
rify thy name in my salvation, purchased by the Son, and 
applied by the Spirit. Work great things to-day in Zion. 
Give energy and efiicacy to the preaching of thy word. Use 
the earthen vessels to-day so that the excellency of the power 
may appear to be of God and not of men. 

TO MISS A. J., OF TRENTON, N. J. 

« New York, June 2d, 1822. 
"I arrived here on Saturday at 11 o'clock, as I expected, 
and am happy to be able to sit down and fulfil my engage- 
ment of writing. I went in the carriage you saw me enter 
to Princeton, and then took a seat in that which Dr. Rice 
and company had left. Mr. Bethune was one of our com- 
pany, and Mr. and Mrs. Fitch joined us. It was twelve be- 

7 



74 



MEMOIR OF THE 



fore we reached New Brunswick. I was glad to keep still 
on Saturday afternoon, as I was quite fatigued. 

" Yesterday I heard Dr. Romeyn twice ; his discourses 
were excellent, upon the second chapter of Acts, and on the 
subject of revivals. I do believe he longs for a revival, pure 
and powerful, free from improper feeling. I never saw ap- 
pearances so flattering here in general, or in our church* in 
particular. Called to-day at Mr. C.'s — he was not at home ; 
saw Mrs. C. and Miss C. 

" This evening we shall be allowed again to mingle our 
prayers with many Christians at the throne of grace, for the 
general outpouring of the Spirit for the conversion of the 
world. Oh, may God give us the spirit of prayer in large 
measure. 

" Tuesday morning, I trust the prayers that ascended to 
God during the last twenty-four hours, went up Hke a cloud 
of acceptable incense, and will be had in remembrance before 
God. The time will come when Jesus Christ shall reign 
from sea to sea, and from shore to shore. 

" There is a great want of rain in this city ; they had no 
rain on Friday, when you were refreshed with showers. 
But there is greater need of a rain of spiritual blessings, 
and for the reign of righteousness; for though there are 
many children of God here, and many houses of public wor- 
ship, yet here verily Satan has fixed his throne, and holds 
his court, and sways a stern and cruel sceptre over thousands 
of willing subjects. Oh God, break up these strong holds 
of sin and Satan, and abolish these abodes of corruption and 
crime. 

" My health is better than it was before the vacation. I 
still spend the morning of each day in my study, and go out 
in the afternoon and evening. 



* He was a member of Dr. Romeyn's church. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



75 



*' I spent a happy Sabbath. I hope I enjoy something of 
the presence of God, and that I feel his sustaining and direct- 
ing hand upon me. May he use me in his service here, and 
admit me to his blissful presence hereafter, and there may I 
meet all that my heart holds dear." 

TO THE SAME. 

" New York, June 10th, 1822. 

— " When feeling prompts you to perform any ac- 
tion, pause and inquire if the motive is God's glory. Actions 
are well to be weighed, by considering the present effect, and 
the ultimate or remote influence. I might pursue a course 
of duty, or what should seem to be duty on a partial exami- 
nation, with a pure desire to promote the kingdom of the Re- 
deemer on the earth, and at the same time be undermining 
my health slowly and insensibly, but certainly and fatally, 
and so disqualifying myself for that sphere of usefulness to 
which I trust God has called me, and in preparation for 
which, seeking the direction of my Master, I must make 
every principle, and every faculty, and every feeling bend. 

" May God guide you and preserve you, and enable you 
to let your light shine here below in the kingdom of his grace, 
and hereafter may you shine as a star of the first magnitude 
in the firmament of glory. 

"Yesterday was another precious Sabbath to my soul. 
I heard Dr. Spring in the morning from these words : * For 
thy name's sake, oh Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.' 
In the afternoon Dr. Romeyn, from ' Behold the Lamb of 
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' And in the 
evening an old gentleman, from ' Unto you, therefore, who 
believe, he is precious.' You see the subjects were well cal- 
culated to refresh the soul, and truly I can say my soul was 
refreshed. Between services we read the obituary of Mrs. 
Poor, It is a precious morsel. Oh, how religion shines in 



76 



MEMOIR OF THE 



the ' dark valley.' Let me live like the righteous and die 
like the righteous. My health is very good. I have caught 
a slight cold in the humid evening air, but shall know how 
to guard against it in future. I am spending my time plea- 
santly, and I hope profitably, with access to Mr. Lyon's 
library, also to Dr. Romeyn's. I know not when I shall 
leave the city." 

TO THE SAME. 

« New York, June 17th, 1822. 
" I have nothing new or interesting to write, my dear A., 
this morning, except to record the continued mercies of God, 
which are new every morning, and fresh every evening. 
Every day I find more and more to interest my feelings and 
heart in regard to God's work of grace in this city. I do 
believe, should Dr. Romeyn and his elders go through the 
congregation and deal faithfully with every soul, whether 
professors or non-professors, God would own and honour 
their efforts as the means of exciting this people to such a 
state of engagedness as they have never seen or felt. Meet- 
ings are well attended and solemn ; ten or fifteen are known 
to be inquiring the way to Zion, weeping as they go ; and I 
do believe many more are unusually thoughtful. Oh, that 
God would visit this city in proportion to its inhabitants. If 
God is angry with one sinner every day, and hates every 
sinner, how, oh how must his long-suffering patience be tried 
by the ten thousand abominations of this city ! How must 
he be insulted by the black cloud of incense that rises daily 
from a thousand altars consecrated to the prince of darkness ! 
But he is gathering in his chosen ones, here and there on 
every side; and when they are all gathered in, how soon 
will the cloud of vengeance, red with uncommon wrath, pour 
down its horrors upon this guilty population. * The day of 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



7T 



their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon 
them make haste.' 

" Oh, to feel more deeply and constantly the worth of 
souls, and to be more engaged for their salvation. 

" I am glad to hear that Mr. A. has been assisted in his 
present delicate state of health. I do believe he has suffered 
his anxiety for his people to prey upon his health. Anxiety 
may rise to a height that will make it sinful. But oh, may 
God gratify the desires of your soul, and revive his work 
among you. 

" I saw brother Moore just before he left this for Albany. 
Brother Chester called on me ; he is on his way home, where 
he will spend the summer, and return to Charleston in the 
fall. — I expect to leave this for Princeton on Wednesday 
next. I shall not go to Somerville nor Elizabethtown, the 
vacation is so nearly spent. I must be in Princeton a few 
days before our duties in the seminary commence." 

June ZOth. First Sabbath of the summer session. Nearly 
two months have gone since I have made any record of thy 
goodness, oh my kind and indulgent Father. Thou hast 
followed me with thy kindness wherever I have been, and 
thou hast permitted me to hope and to rejoice in thy mercy. 
I have seen the traces of thy power, the influences of thy 
spirit, the movements of thy mercy. I have seen the tro- 
phies of thy grace, and would hope I have felt something of 
thy presence and of thy love wherever I have been. Oh, I 
desire to begin anew to serve thee, to love thee. Lord, 
make me entirely thine, for ever thine. 

" Prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. 
Prone to leave the God I love." 

Oh, restrain my wandering feet, bind me to thy throne, fill 
my soul with longings after thy blessed presence — : 

7* 



78 



MEMOIR OF THE 



" Constrain my soul thy sway to own, 
Self-will, self-rig-hteousness detlirone." 

Lord, make the prayer sincere, and answer it for the sake of 
Jesus, the sinner's hope, the sinner's friend. 

TO MISS A. J., OF TRENTON, N. J. 

" Princeton, July 1st, 1822. 

" I have just returned from a meeting of the Missionary 
Society ; and at this moment a fine shower is beginning to 
fall, though like many other promising clouds, it may pass 
with but little rain. 

" The weather is intensely warm, every one seems ener- 
vated. We have now, however, some thunder, which, with 
the attendant shower, will greatly purify the air. Oh, that 
we should think so little of the goodness of our heavenly 
Father, who is so mindful of our weakness and our wants. 
He is, in a very gracious manner, sending showers of spi- 
ritual blessings to water the barren and thirsty parts of his 
vineyard. We have heard to-day of many revivals to the 
north of us ; and indeed I have never known a time when 
such a spirit seemed to be diffused, and is diffusing itself, 
among those who profess to love the Saviour, and also among 
those who are far from righteousness. Oh, that this encou- 
raging influence may extend, until every town and hamlet 
shall be plentifully watered by showers from on high, and 
every abode of darkness and of death shall be demolished 
from under the whole heavens, and our Redeemer be exalted 
in all the earth. 

" I have not time to give you the particulars of our mis- 
sionary meeting. Brother P. gave us an interesting address, 
and they have taken the liberty of electing your humble ser- 
vant to deliver one at the beginning of the next session. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



79 



Brother S. has just called — says he preached for Mr. A. yes- 
terday. I hope you had a precious season. Dr. Alexander 
gave us a very solemn discourse from these words, ' How 
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation !' 

" Our conference was solemn ; we talked about revivals. 
Mr. Woodhull preached in the evening. 

"I would love to be at your tea-table this evening, and 
then go with you to the house of prayer, on the evening of 
this day sacred to the cause of missions. I long to feel 
more, and to see signs of more feeling in others, on this 
course. Oh, may God warm our hearts and hear our 
prayers." 

TO THE SAME. 

''July 8th, 1822. 
" I spent the whole day in my room. In the afternoon 
wrote a good long letter to my dear aged parents. I have 
received letters from my brother and sister both, since I saw 
you : their families are in health. My sister, you know, is 
the only professor of religion among them.* My parents 
are as happy as they can be under the infirmities of age, and 
in a new country, where their religious privileges are of ne- 
cessity few. But God can provide for his people a well in 
the wilderness as well as in the land of Canaan. , The pre- 
sence of God makes a heaven any where. In the chamber 
or on the bed of sickness — yes, in the chamber and on the 
bed of death, in the dungeon or on the scaffold, in society or 
in solitude, at home or abroad, wherever we are in the em- 
pire of Jehovah, there is heaven to us if we are the children 
of God. Oh, what a father is our heavenly Father ! What 
a gift is Jesus Christ ! What a companion is the Holy Spi- 
rit, who dwells in the heart of believers ! Let us be mind- 

* His brother has since made a profession. 



80 



MEMOIR OF THE 



ful of our Christian privileges, and be grateful to the God in 
whom we live and breathe. 

* May every hour be bliss divine, 
And every thought be heaven.' " 

TO THE SAME. 

"July 25th, 1822. 

" It is religion that gives stability to purpose and 

perpetuity to friendship, and stamps the seal of eternity upon 
the bond that unites congenial souls. 

" It gives me pleasure to know that you enjoy the light 
of God's countenance. This will make you happy. — 
You may be called to pass through darkness, but you will 
feel the kind hand of your Redeemer leading you, and his 
voice saying, ' this is the way and, ' fear not, it is I, be 
not afraid.' You may be greatly tried in the furnace of 
affliction, ' but one like unto the Son of God' will walk with 
you in the midst of the fire, that the flames shall not kindle 
upon you. God is every where, and he is your Father, and 
he will not be weary of hearing your cries ; he will not for- 
sake you ; he will guide you through life, and up to glory. 

* Oh then let us praise him, let us bow at his feet, 
Oh»give him the glory and his praises repeat.' 

"We have had an interesting day. Mr. Goodell is in 
town, and this morning he addressed our Missionary Society. 
You know he is an accepted missionary for Western Asia, 
(Palestine.) He has lately visited the missionary stations 
among the Indians of the south-west, and he gave a most 
interesting account of them. After he closed his remarks, 
Dr. Rice made a few observations, and concluded with 
prayer. We expect Mr. G. to lecture for us this evening. 
I hope to be able to visit those missionary stations ; and while 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



81 



I live, and wherever I live, my best energies shall be sacred 
to the cause of missions, the cause of Christ. Oh, that the 
spirit of Mills, and Martyn, and Newell, and Parsons, might 
animate every minister of the gospel, and every individual 
that is a friend to man and the Redeemer of man. How 
soon would the heralds of salvation be sent to every land, 
the Bible be read in every language, and the gospel-trumpet 
be sounded from pole to pole. Oh Lord, the work is thine; 
hasten it in its time. I trust you and I have much to do in 
this great cause. Let us be watching and praying for op- 
portunities to be useful, and for grace to improve them when 
offered ; and though we may not live to see the fulfilment of 
God's promises of mercy to Zion, and hear on earth the full 
chorus of praise from an emancipated, converted world, yet 
through grace we will look down from the top of the ever- 
lasting hills, and rejoice in the full accomplishment of a work 
in which we were permitted to labour on the earth." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Saturday evening, August 3d!, 1822. 

" I have been sitting alone by the light of the moon, (a 
little while,) and while I gazed I could not avoid the thought 
that perhaps your's is fixed too upon that bright orb. I was 
not in haste to check the thought, and only wished I could 
walk with you and talk of its brightness, and how it would 
grow dim before the rising sun ; and how the sun, and moon, 
and ail created glories, fade and disappear before the Sun of 
Righteousness. 

" It is delightful to gaze upon the works of God in all their 
majesty and in all their minuteness — to see the touches of 
his finger upon the skirts of every cloud, his agency in every 
leaf that flutters in the wind, in every insect that floats in 
the air or creeps upon the earth, every planet that rolls in 
the heavens, every star that decorates our firmament, but that 



82 



MEMOIR OF THE 



shines and radiates its effulgence in some far distant part of 
Jehovah's empire — the centre and the sun of a retinue of 
worlds. And then the Httleness of man, with all his imagined 
consequence and towering expectations, forces itself upon 
the mind, and one can scarce repress the exclamation of the 
psalmist, ' Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? 
and the son of man, that thou visitest him V 

" The week is almost gone ; its cares have passed away, 
and some of its duties done and some undone. Brothers 
Breckenridge and Baird have been licensed — brother M'Far- 
lane ordained. I feel thankful for any favourable symptoms 
in your mother's disease, and for all the goodness God is 
causing to pass before you." 

TO THE SAME. 

Princeton, August 7 thy 1822. 

" Your letter was duly received this morning. I heard 
last evening that Dr. Richards was in town, and was at a 
loss at first to conjecture the cause, but presently concluded 
he must be a member of the committee of examination. 

" It is quite needless for me to say I deeply sympathize 
with you in every sorrow, and in every painful apprehension 
of the issue of your dear mother's disease. It is known 
only to God, and blessed be his name that his ways are often 
hid by clouds and darkness from mortal vision ; and while 
we He still and submissive beneath the shadow of his throne, 
we can rejoice in that righteousness that does all things well, 
and all things in the tenderest manner for his children. How 
willing we should be to resign those that are dearest to us at 
our Saviour's call ! He is a better friend to them than we 
can be. He knows better what they need than we can know, 
and will certainly do what is best for them. Oh, I know it 
is nature that struggles, but let us pray that God would give 
grace the victory, that he would subdue our wills and enable 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



83 



us to submit cheerfully to his government, and to know that 
he is God. 

" I know that these ideas have been revolved often in your 
mind, and doubtless you feel that Jesus Christ, the same yes- 
terday, to-day and for ever, is the rock you must cling to in 
every storm, the great pole-star that will guide you in the 
darkest night, and the precious, heavenly friend that will 
never fail you. No, death may rage and spread its ravages, 
disease may blast our dearest earthly prospects, and bury in 
one common grave all that can render life desirable. Yet 
our Redeemer lives, and can make up every loss, and even 
turn our mourning into joy that shall never end. 

" With such truths betbre us, let us away for ever with 
such thoughts as ' being alone and friendless in the world,' 
and pray God to forgive the unbelief that would admit them 
for a moment. I hope your dear mother will be restored, 
and be enabled to praise God in the land of the living — to 
live for the happiness of her family, and especially for the 
glory of God. But if he is about to send her his final sum- 
mons, may the language of her heart and our hearts be, 
* Thy will be done.' And whether God has designed for 
her a speedy departure, or a lingering disease, or a long life 
of usefulness and happiness, this language equally becomes 
us still." 

TO MR. H. D., OF BALLSTON, N, Y. 

'^Princeton, August 17th, 1822. 
" I am really concerned when I recollect that your last 
kind letter, of the third of June, remains unanswered. But 
my apology is short. I wished to answer it in a manner 
suitable to the solemn intelligence it brought me, and there- 
fore laid it by for time to execute the intention, and though 
on ten occasions I have been as much disengaged as the 
present, yet I have not had one hour suitable for answering 



84 



MEMOIR OP THE 



a letter of so dear a friend. Be not surprised at me, my 
brother, for I have at this moment more than half a dozen 
duties for the Seminary and for Presbytery that demand my 
earnest attention, and you are aware how illy we are pre- 
pared to do justice to our friends when the mind is jaded out 
with incessant application. Our friend Smith has often told 
me that the duties in the Seminary were very pressing, but 
the amount is greatly augmented since he was a member of 
the institution. 

" By this time you have concluded how we are all em- 
ployed, and that I am making up the length of my silence 
by the length of my apology. 

" But, my dear brother, your welfare for both worlds lies 
as near my heart as it ever did, and in the midst of all my 
hurry I can find time to pray for my friends, to pray for 
Zion. Yes, for Zion's sake I will not rest, in Zion's cause I 
will wear out my energies, for Zion's King I will lay down 
my life, and in Zion's everlasting triumphs I will hope to 
string a harp in heaven. There is nothing else worth living 
for. What are the few fleeting years of mortal life, but as 
they allow us to work for God and prepare for heaven 1 
What is learning 1 what the dearest friends, but as they can 
help us to glorify God 1 As an immortal being, the salva- 
tion of my soul is to me the great concern. What is the 
whole universe besides ? And if I am allowed to hope that 
my peace is made with God and my heaven secure, some of 
the principles upon which I build my hope of salvation will 
send forth an unextinguishable desire to promote God's glory 
in the salvation of others. 

" Away with that religion that sends not abroad its ardent 
wishes and vigorous efforts for the extension of the Redeemer's 
kingdom. Without the spirit of Christ I am none of his. 
And what is the spirit of Christ? He came on a mission of 
mercy to this ruined world, and made sacrifices, and endured 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



85 



sufFering, which no human arithmetic can calculate, to pur- 
chase my salvation. And what, what have I done, what 
can I do, ' for him that died to save my wretched soul V 

" My brother, I know these are old thoughts with you, but 
let me beg of you to ring them in the ears of God's people 
wherever you find them. There are multitudes dying in 
our land, and mighty multitudes in other lands, without hope 
and without heaven ; and, with some individual exceptions, 
our churches are asleep. Death is invading the missionary 
and ministerial ranks, and who shall supply their places ? 
Our frontiers are extending their hands and directing their 
cries to heaven, almost in despair of help from Christendom. 
While one part of our earth is illuminated with science and 
salvation, another part is sunk in darkness." 

TO MISS A. J., OF TRENTON, N. J. 

" August 27th, 1822. 

" All things continue as they were in Princeton. I have 
not seen Miss S. ; brother Myers saw her at Dr. Miller's 
last evening, when our singing brethren were invited to en- 
tertain the company. 

" I rejoice that your uncle S. has visited you, and that he 
speaks so favourably pf your mother's situation as to think 
that she is in no immediate danger. May God restore her, 
and enable her at all times to have her house set in order, 
and her lamp trimmed for her final departure.— Mrs. A. is 
very anxious to visit you this week. 

"Live near to God, he is a faithful friend— he sticketh 
closer than a brother. May you all enjoy much of his 
„ # * * * 

presence. 

" It rejoices my heart to know that you are casting your- 
self into the arms of your heavenly Father. There you may 
rest with confidence during every storm. There you may 
fix your hope, and the convulsions of the world shall not 



86 



MEMOIR OF THE 



shake it. Your dear Redeemer will hear every prayer, hush 
every sigh, dry every tear, sooth every sorrow, make up 
every loss, support you in every trying hour. Thither then 
betake yourself, cling to his promises, trust in his goodness ; 
he will not forsake you. Let the language of your heart be, 

* Dear Father, if thy lifted rod 

Resolve to scourg-e us here below. 
Still will I lean upon my God, 

His arm will bear me safely throug-h.' 

" May God bless you all, and give you to feel much of his 
presence, support and guidance." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Princeton, Sept. 20th, 1822. 

" I cannot resist the inclination to write though I have 
nothing new or interesting to communicate. My spirits sunk 
the day after I returned from Trenton — probably from hav- 
ing been kept up so long by exciting circumstances. 

" I cannot realize the mournful scene that passed before 
our eyes while I was at Trenton.— It seems rather like the 
recollections of a distressing dream.— -But it is sober, solemn 
reality. Your dear mother is gone ! She sleeps the sleep 
of ages, and she sleeps in peace. No noise, no pain, inter- 
rupts her slumbers. She sleeps in Jesus. But it is only 
her dust that sleeps. Her immortal spirit lives, wakes, wor- 
ships, soars and sings, in its Creator's, its Redeemer's pre- 
sence. Yes, delightful thought, she is high in glory ; the 
journey is ended, the conflict with sin and death is over ; the 
victory is complete; the ties of earth are sundered; the 
swellings of Jordan are passed, and for the last week she 
has been learning more of happiness, of God, of glory, than 
she could have thought of for ages here below. You do not 
wish her back again. No ; you love her better. Then let 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



8T 



it be a part of the business of your life, while you cherish 
her memory, to recollect her pious counsel, to follow her ex- 
ample as she followed Christ. 

" My heart has involuntarily dictated these thoughts be- 
fore I was aware. You have them for what they are worth 
to yourself, sisters and friends. 

" I hope you have much of God's presence that makes 
heaven of any place. The more you wish for communion 
with him, the more you will enjoy it. 

" We are half through with our examination ; or rather I 
should say, I am. I shall probably finish to-morrow even- 
ing. We expect to be dismissed, as usual, on Monday 
evening. But as Mr. Hodge is to be inaugurated on Tuesday, 
and Dr. M'Auley is expected to preach on the occasion, I 
intend remaining here until Wednesday." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Trenton, October Sd, 1822. 

" It would be needless to tell you how lonely and desolate 
Trenton* seems. I reached here on Monday evening. 

« But such is the mutability of all things earthly. We 
cling to one spot of earth as though it possessed all the om- 
nipotence of a charm that would last for ever. The slightest 
accident can dissolve the charm, and leave the spot as un- 
lovely as the rest of creation. 

* Earthly things 
Are but the transient pagents of an hour. 
And earthly joys are but a passing- flower.* 

" We need not, however, spend much time in expatiating 
on the nature of things beneath the skies, when we have our 

* After the death of Mrs. Jackson the family went to Philadel- 
phia. 



\ 



88 



MEMOIR OF THE 



inheritance above them. Blessed be God we were made for 
immortaUty. 

* And that the good man's hope is fixed 

Far, far beyond the surge of tempests, and the furious 

Sweep of mortal desolation. He beholds, unapprehensive. 

The gig-antic stride of rampant ruin. 

And the unstable waves of dark vicissitude. 

Even in death 
His hope forsook him not, for it exists 

Beyond the narrow verge of the cold sepulchre.' ■> \ 

" Let the moments fly. When I can feel that Christ and \ 
heaven are mine I will not regard their flight. The days of 
our pilgrimage separate us from our Father's house. Let ' 
the days become hours, the hours moments, and let the mo- 
ments be no more, so that God's glory is secured and my 
work for eternity done." 

Sabbath evening, Oct. 6th, 1 822. In the hurry and ar- 
duous pursuits of another session, three months have passed 
insensibly by. The mariner, hurried on by the gale, must 
make his observations to ascertain the distance he has run, 
and we mortals are carried on by a rapid current, but yet so 
steady, that we are often surprised when we look back to 
where we were a short time ago. But though the summer 
is passed, and part of the autumn is already gone, they have 
not passed without making new impressions of God's good- 
ness on my mind. 

And they have been replete with events altogether un- 
looked for and painful in the extreme. I have been called 
to attend the death-bed of a friend. Mrs. Rebecca Jackson 
has sickened and died, and gone home to glory. Her family 
has been broken up in the short space of a few months. But 
God does all things well blessed be his name. Every con- 
solation, that religion can administer, has mingled with the 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



89 



cup of sorrow and allayed its bitterness. Though to live 
was Christ, yet for her it was pre-eminently gain to die. 
Oh, God, prepare her children to follow her when the duties 
of life shall be done. They are orphans indeed ; but happy 
are those orphans whose God is the Lord. Wilt thou ma- 
nage all the circumstances of their lives ? May they live 
near to thee, and so be happy. Sanctify this dispensation, 
in all its bearings, to me. Oh, may I feel, more and more, 
the shortness of life ; and what I find to do, may I do quickly. 

«* Father, whate'er of earthly bliss, 

Thy sovereig-n will denies; 
Accepted at thy throne of grace, 

Let this petition rise. 

«< Give me a calm, a thankful heart. 

From every murmur free? 
The blessings of thy grace impart. 

And let me live to thee. 

« Let the sweet hope, that thou art mine. 

My life and death attend; 
Thy presence through my journey shine, 

And crown my journey's end." 

TO MISS A. J., OF PHILADELPHIA. 

''New YorJc, Oct. llth, 1822. 

" I did not intend to address you from this city, but I could 
not be released from Presbytery until yesterday, unless I 
went without accomplishing all my business. I was not at 
liberty early enough to take the evening boat. 

" This day is set apart for those who fear God, as a day 
of special humiliation and prayer, that he would restore 
health to this afflicted city, and sanctify all his frowning dis- 
pensations, and pour out spiritual blessings. The day, how- 
ever, will be but little regarded. The hum of business fills the 
air as on other days ; the loud laugh of thoughtless mirth, 

8* 



90 



MEMOIR OF THE 



the deep toned curses of infamy and crime are still heard in 
this city, that should be clad in sackcloth and repentance. 
There is much theoretical and practical infidelity that walks 
the earth and defies the heavens, but still Jehovah reigns, 
and has prepared a bottomless, eternal prison, for the de- 
spisers of his power and the rejecters of his mercy. ' Oh, 
that they were wise, that they understood this, that they 
would consider their latter end.' " 

TO THE SAME. 

[About the same date.) 
" It is right for you to realize that you are an orphan. 
But you will not forget that God is the orphan's Father. It 
is right for you to realize that your dear parents are gone ! 
But you will remember they are gone to glory. I must cau- 
tion you, however, from indulging painful thoughts respect- 
ing your dear mother's illness. Rest assured, my dear A., 
every circumstance was ordered by the Lord. All second 
causes depend, both for their existence and their effect, upon 
his most righteous will ; and, for any thing you can tell, 
those very circumstances which you regret, were ordered in 
mercy, in the place of others far more distressing. God 
knows what he has done. He loved your mother better than 
you could possibly love her. His was an everlasting love, 
and was capable of seeing just what was best for the object 
on which it was placed ; and then, of bringing it about. Be 
not too anxious to desert this field of toil and conflict. Re- 
member, the purest gold comes from the hottest furnace. 
The battle must be fought before the prize is awarded ; and 
while you desire patiently to wait until your change come, 
let it be your constant aim to glorify God, and to tune your 
heart for those everlasting anthems which your father and 
mother are singing with all the redeemed from among men 
around God's throne." 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



91 



TO THE SAME. 

''November 18th, 1822. 

" Yesterday \v£is a delightful, and, I trust, profitable day 
for me. How sweet, in this wilderness of sin, to catch a 
ray of light from heaven ; amid these clouds, and storms, 
and frosts, to be warmed, and melted down, by the bright 
sunbeams of a Saviour's love. These are some of the 
* angel visits' of his mercy, that sweeten human life, re- 
lieve the toils of our journey, and strengthen us to renew 
the conflict with our spiritual foes. 

" We might enjoy such seasons oftener, were we more 
faithful. But we are too content to live at a great distance 
from God. And yet he is pleased, sometimes, in matchless 
condescension, to surprise us by a refreshing breeze from the 
air of Paradise. 

" Next Lord's day the Lord's supper will be administered 
in this place. Oh, for a heart prepared to meet the Master 
of the feast; to apprehend, and feed upon, Christ by faith. 

" I rejoice that you enjoy the light of God's countenance; 
and find delight in meditating upon his holy word. By the 
assistance of the Holy Spirit, you may make your present 
sickness one of the most profitable periods of your life. 
While the ordinary business of life is suspended you may be 
employed in transacting business for eternity. 

" It would be an old story to tell you I have much busi- 
ness on hand ; but yet it is as true as ever. I should feel 
grateful to the preserver of my life, that I enjoy such excel- 
lent health. Oh, that it may be improved to some good 
purpose. 

" No news to communicate. — I am very anxious to hear 
from my father and mother. It is now two years and two 
months since I saw them. They are aged and have consti- 



92 MEMOIR OF THE 

tutions shattered by disease and misfortunes, but I trust their ' 
inheritance is in heaven. 

" To-morrow is the day appointed for the Sandwich mis- 
sionaries to sail from New Haven. Oh, that the Lord of 
missions would give the winds and the waves charge con- 
cerning them. Make their voyage prosperous, and their 
lives useful." i 

TO THE SAME. 

" November 2lst, 1822. 

" May you have grace to be reconciled to a protracted ill- 
ness, if God, in his righteous providence, should so order it. I 
We should always remember that God's providence is but 
the execution of his most holy purposes; and, as we hope 
that our salvation and eternal life are comprehended in those 
purposes, and the truth is revealed in God's word, that all 
things work for the good of those who love God, <■ who are | 
the called according to his purpose,' let us not shrink at any ' 
of the providences of God, however they may destroy the 
picture which our fancy may have sketched in its youthful j 
visions, or cut down some nursling of our fond expectations. , 
The more we look to God for patience and resignation the i 
lighter will be the crosses we have to bear in our pilgrimage. ' 

" May the presence of your Saviour be better than even ' 
vigorous health could be to you. May he mitigate every 
pain, relieve every anxiety, by occupying every thought. ' 

" One of our brethren, Wm. G. K., from the city of Phi- ' 
ladelphia, is quite ill with the bilious fever. His friends are 
expected to-day. His attack has been very severe. The 
disease is not yet at its height, so that he must probably be 
worse before he can be better, in the ordinary course of fe- I 
vers. Oh, may God interpose in his behalf, and restore | 
him to health and usefulness, and prevent death from making 
any breach among us. 



I 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOKD. 



93 



" How important to be always ready. ' In the midst of 
life we are in death.' May he prepare us for all his will and 
service here, and for the joys of his kingdom hereafter." 

TO THE SAME. 

''November — ,1822. 

" This day is very cold and stormy ; we scarcely go out 
at all. Already the fields are covered with snow, which so 
lately we saw covered with the beauty and verdure of sum- 
mer. Oh, how rapid is the flow of time, and how it bears 
upon its resistless tide the members of human society and 
the monuments of human glory. How many wrecks of hu- 
man hopes, and fragments of demolished grandeur, have 
floated down the stream of time during the year that has 
almost elapsed. Oh, what agitated wanderers should we be, 
were it not for the Rock of Ages. There let us cling ; then 
let the thunders roll, the tempest beat, the seasons revolve, 
the world be convulsed, society be deprived of all its orna- 
ments, and the grave be peopled with all that we hold dear. 
Still, while we kneel at the grave of the last friend, and drop 
our bitter tears alone, we will lean upon the arm of Jesus, 
and rejoice that our Redeemer lives. 

" Let us live nearer to God, strive more against the wick- 
edness of our own hearts, endeavour to be more dead to the 
world, more conformed to the image of our blessed Saviour, 
so shall we be happy in sickness or health, life or death. 

TO THE SAME. 

" November 25th, 1822. 
" Yesterday was really, to me, a precious day. Dr. 
Alexander spoke at the table with freedom and effect. Ge- 
nerally, I do not approve of much speaking on such occa- 
sions. But the remarks of Dr. A. fell in with my train of 
thinking and tone of feeling, and so were the more profit- 



94 



MEMOIR OF THE 



able. Oh, what a privilege to be again at the table of the 
Lord. It is several months since I enjoyed the privilege 
last. It was then in Dr. Ely's church, in May. To re- 
new one's oath of allegiance to the Lo-rd ; to take and taste 
the symbols of a Saviour's blood and body; to feel him pre- 
sent to melt and warm our hearts; to refresh our souls; to 
make us humble by showing us our sins, and the fulness of 
his salvation ; oh, it is an unspeakable privilege. 

" Saturday had been observed as a day of special humi- 
liation and prayer; partly on account of the dangerous ill- 
ness of our dear brother, who still lingers on the very bor- 
ders of the grave, and partly as a day of preparation for the 
services of the Sabbath. In the evening of the Sabbath, 
Dr. Alexander preached most inimitably from these words 
of our Saviour to the penitent thief on the cross, 'Verily 
I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.' 

" Indeed, I must say I do feel as if I had really begun again 
in the Christian course ; and with more vigour than I ever 
felt before. But, oh, how impotent is man ! How unable 
to do anything aright ! In fact, all that is done aright, God 
does for us. We need the aid and agency of the Holy Spirit 
to make any of our attempts either profitable or acceptable. 
May we have that Spirit for a constant resident in our hearts. 
Then, and not till then, shall we be consistent Christians. 

" Br'other K. is but just alive. His fever, though highly 
bilious in its first attack, seems now to be quite typhus in 
Its character. Three physicians are in constant attendance, 
and still have hope, because there is life, and for no other 
reason. How it will terminate God only knows. At any 
rate, it is a most solemn call of providence ' to be ready.' 
It is not a year since brother Turner died. God seems to 
have a controversy with us. Oh, may he teach us the 
meaning of his providences, and quicken us all in'duty, and 
make us more diligent to do his will, and to prepare to meet 
him than we have ever been before. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



95 



"I had a letter on the 19th, from brother Bishop ; they 
had just embarked amid the sympathies and prayers of as- 
sembled thousands, on board the Thames. He has promised 
to write me again soon; probably from the Cape de Verd 
Islands." 

TO THE SAME. 

''November 26th, 1822. 

" I received your letter last evening, and as brother Myers 
will accompany the body of our departed brother to the city, 
I send you a line by him. I was requested to stand as one 
of the committee of the brethren, to go down, but it was not 
in my power to leave the seminary, as 1 have an exercise to 
perform in the missionary society, on Monday next, if my 
life and health be spared. 

" I know you are in God's hands, and under his kind 
care. Oh, for more faith to live near him under a constant 
sense of his presence, and agency, and parental care. 

" Let us look to him that he would sanctify all his deal- 
ings, and wean us from the world. I met with the remark 
lately, in Cecil's Remains, ' That we should always record 
our thoughts in affliction, set up our marks, set up our Beth- 
els, set up our Ebenezers, that we may recur to them in 
health ; for then we are in other circumstances, and can 
never recover our sick-bed views.' 

" May you be able to do so, and may this season of af- 
fliction be rendered one of the most profitable seasons of 
your hfe." 

Dec, 1st, 1822. Last Sabbath I solemnly renewed my 
covenant obligations to be the Lord's, and again received 
the sacred symbols of his body and blood. I then, at his 
table, resolved to live nearer to him all my days, and by his 
grace assisting me, never to consider any of my powers and 



96 



MEMOIR OF THE 



faculties my own, or to use them, but for his glory. But, 
alas ! my resolutions are broken as soon as he leaves me« 
I can do nothing, absolutely nothing, without divine aid. 
Judgments will but harden me, ordinances will be barren 
every service will be cold and frigid if God do not bless 
them. 

Again the seminary has had a solemn call from eternity 
to prepare to die ; to work while the day lasts, is the import 
of the summons to us all. One of our beloved brethren, 
Wm. G. Krebs, in the very morning of life, and in the 
bloom and vigour of health, was cut down in eight days. 
Deprived of his reason, most of the time of his illness, he 
said scarcely a word to inform us of the state of his mind. 
Turner exhorted us, in a most solemn and affecting manner, 
to live near to God, and to be active in our master's cause. 
His words were full of meaning, and he had his reason and 
speech till the last. But in the late visitation not a word was 
spoken ; but the mute eloquence of a solemn death-bed scene 
seemed designed to enforce the same important lesson. Oh, 
how loud the call to be also ready; to work while the day 
lasts. May God impress every heart, and cause this afflic- 
tion to work out fruits of righteousness. Lord, my spiritual 
enemies are stronger than I; undertake for me. Subdue 
my corruptions. Sanctify my heart, and enable me to fol- 
low hard after thee, and to enjoy much of thy presence, 
which is life ; and thy loving-kindness, which is better than 
life. 

TO THE SAME. 

" December 2d, 1822. 
" It is now nearly time for the monthly concert. The 
missionary society, in the seminary, has just adjourned. 
We have had some interesting intelligence, to-day, on the 
state of religion. Oh, that we could feel more anxious for 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



97 



the spread of the gospel ; for the salvation of sinners. This 
evening, I trust, though confined to a sick chamber, your 
soul will delight in God, and rise in ardent prayer for the 
spread of the gospel. Oh, may God pour out upon his sup- 
plicating Zion the spirit of prayer, and answer her cries for 
the coming of the set time to favour her." 

TO THE SAME. 

« Princeton, N. J. Dec, 12th, 1822. 
" This has been a day of pubhc prayer and thanksgiving, 
appointed by the governor of New Jersey. The day has 
been peculiarly solemn to me. It is just about a year since 
brother Myers and myself rode to Trenton, to attend the 
service on thanksgiving-day. Many changes we have seen 
since that day. But God has ordered them all. No event 
takes place without his permission. Oh, to feel it more and 
more, and to feel also that we are his, soul and body ; and to 
rejoice to have him do with us and by us as seemeth good 
in his sight." 

TO THE SAME. 

" December 20th, 1822. 

" I have deferred writing until quite the last of the week, 
and even now I have nothing of special interest to communi- 
cate. The days of our lives which are least eventful are 
always marked by an uninterrupted series of mercies which 
gives opportunity to admire and adore. Though, alas, we 
too frequently become accustomed to our blessings, and then 
forget that they are the gifts of our heavenly Father. Hence 
the necessity of quickening our apprehensions by providences 
that seem afflictive and corrective, for none of the trials of 
God's people are of a penal nature. 

" I rejoice that you view your present sickness as a salu- 
tary dispensation of your best, your almighty friend, design- 

9 



98 



3IEM0IR OF THE 



ed to draw you nearer to himself, to facilitate the work of 
sanctification. If this is the effect, you will say of it, Happy 
sickness, sent in mercy, sanctified by grace, overruled for 
God's glory and my soul's good. 

" The truths contained in the sacred Scriptures are well 
adapted to hush every thought that would rebel against his 
righteous government. Oh, to feel, in ihe midst of the most 
terrific storm, ' My Father is at the helm to feel, whilst 
smarting under the rod, 'My Father deals the blow;' tc 
feel, when clouds and darkness are round about him, tha 
righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne 
to feel, while on the rough sea of life, as we are dashed fror 
billow to billow, ' Jesus is my pilot.' 

" Heaven is the port where every believing voyager land 
and in the strength of Jesus 1 will mingle my praises wi 
the tempest that ends my toils. 

" I know not, my dear A., what God has in store for y 
in this world. Perhaps these trials are only preparatory > 
greater and more trying ones. But I do trust he has sor - 
thing in reserve for you, that will in heaven show you ca 3 
to raise higher and higher your notes of thanksgiving and 
praise for eternity." 

To THE SAME. 

''December 25th, 1822. 

" May God perfect his begun goodness and restore you to 
perfect health, and enable you to come forth from this furnace 
like gold well refined, and hereafter to shine and reflect much 
of the loveliness of the Christian religion on earth ; and when 
all the will qf your kind heavenly Father is done below, that 
you may shine in the kingdom of his glory, like the bright- 
ness of the firmament, or like a star for ever and ever ! 

" I have felt for some time that my proud heart must be 
softened and bowed by afllictions, and I have sometimes 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



99 



thought that the illness of , and the temporary inter- 

ruption of my own studies, are perhaps the commencement of 
a series of chastisements designed by my heavenly Father 
to bring me to a deeper sense of my dependence upon him, 
;to make me more spiritual, more dead to the world, more 
entirely devoted to him, and thus the better prepared to glo- 
rify his name among men, and to preach the richness of his 
salvation to others, when I am cut off from every other source 
i)f hope and consolation myself. I am well aware, however, 
ihat the book of providence is a mysterious volume, and is 
yiost legible when read backwards, and I would by no means 
Vish to read my history were it in my power. Only 

* Let the sweet hope that Christ is mine, 
j Through all my life attend, 

I ' His presence through my journey shine, 

And crown my journey's end' — 

1 ii I shall be happy, whatever may befall me in this 'vale 
< tears.' It is important for me to learn effectually the les- 
£ 1, ' Lean not on earth.' Let God be the portion of my 
« my all-sufficient good,' and then I shall never be dis- 
a|^ointed." 

TQ THE SAME. 

« December Slst, 1822. 
" There is something in the solemnity of the last day of 
any particular period of time, especially of a year, that in- 
vites to contemplation, and brings to our thoughts the memory 
of joys that are past, of friends that are now no more, and 
that disposes us to hold converse with those whom our hearts 
hold dear. There is much, doubtless, in the associations of 
our ideas that gives interest to the close and the commence- 
ment of a year. In the days of our childhood, ' when all 
was new and life was in its spring,' the thoughtless gaiety, 



100 



MEMOIR OF THE 



the festivities unalloyed by bitter disappointment, the youth- 
ful pleasures which marked the flight of time, all combine to 
throw a charm around the ' grave of the year,' which the 
experience of a few more years, and all the sad reality of 
wo's wide empire, have now conspired to dissipate. 

" We now associate the lapse of time with the career of 
our immortal being, with the progress of our preparation for 
the eternal world ; and we find much cause for deep repent- 
ance in the review of our departed hours, and much cause 
for thankfulness to God for the patience that has spared us, 
and the goodness that has followed us, in the midst of our 
ingratitude and sinfulness. 

" We have been led in a way that we knew not, a way 
scattered over with thorns, overhung with darkness, but led 
by a Father's hand ; and may we not humbly hope in the 
way to glory? Stripes have been administered, but they 
were the stripes of a Father, who corrects his wayward chil- 
dren for their good, and sanctifies the smart. Whatever 
view we take of the past, whether of the mercies we have 
received or of God's forbearance, of our temporal or spiritual 
blessings, of our sorrows and afl^ictions, or of our joys, and 
hopes, and consolations, we find cause for fresh gratitude 
and new dedication of ourselves to God. Is it not interesting 
to stand on this seeming boundary between what was and 
what is to be, and devote all to God, soul and body, time, 
talents and influence, for both worlds? Adoring him for the 
supply of our wants, trusting him confidently for all that is 
to come, imploring his pardoning mercy for the misspent 
past of our lives, relying on his grace for the unknown future 
of our being. Oh, it is but a little while and every change 
will be over, every tear will be dry ; time will be exchanged 
for eternity, earth for heaven, if we are so happy as to be 
the children of God. 

" Ere this reaches you we will be in another year. And 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



101 



suppose we should not live to see its close ; suppose, before 
half its months are numbered, we should either* or both of 
us be summoned away from these revolutions of time, and 
have tuned our voices to the melody of angels, strung our 
golden harps to the symphonies of heaven, and tried our 
unshackled energies in our Redeemer's praise, among higher 
intelligences who have never sinned. Oh yes, and suppose 
we shall have been greeted by some kindred spirits who were 
dear to us on earth, who were called before us to heaven, 
and who have been often sent on errands of love to guard 
our steps, to prevent our falling, to watch our repose, to warn 
us of danger, — who have watched with holy solicitude all 
the windings of our pilgrimage, and who now rejoice at our 
safe arrival, when our journey is ended and our victory com- 
plete. Oh, should we wish us back to earth again ? When 
we look back upon the valley of death, and see it all lumin- 
ous with glory, we shall wonder at the clouds and darkness 
that awed us as we entered it. 

* 'Tis but a path that must be trod. 
If ever we would go to God.' 

" Accept the compliments of the season, and may the grace 
and the presence of God make it to you emphatically a happy 
new year.'''' 

TO Miss M. J., OF PHILADELPHIA. 

Princeton, Dec, 20th, 1822, 

" I hope that the cares that devolve upon you this winter 
will not prevent your attending, more earnestly than ever, 
to that solemn work of preparation for a sick and dying bed, 
and an approaching day of judgment, which we all have in 
near prospect, whether now in sickness or health. I have 



* To her it proved the last. 
9# 



102 



MEMOIR OF THE 



little expectation that your sister will be able to leave her 
room this winter. But God will do all things in the best 
manner — to him let us commit her and ourselves. 

" Death is always near, my dear M., and you have within 
a few months seen much to remind you of the importance of 
thorough preparation. Our friends contribute to our com- 
fort while we are in this world, but when the dying hour 
arrives, they can only stand helpless and agonized spectators 
of our departing struggles. You have many dear friends, 
who long for your present and future happiness, but you are 
sufficiently sensible of the desirableness of having God for 
your friend. Other friends may fail us, death chills the 
hearts that were warm with affection, paralyzes the hands 
that were often stretched out for our comfort, closes the eyes 
that beamed with tenderness for us, and consigns to the dark- 
ness, and dust, and putrefaction of the grave, the forms of 
those we fondly love. But, blessed be the God of the Bible, 
he is a friend that never fails. Oh, may he be yours, my 
dearest M., and then whatever catastrophe may dismember 
human society and convulse the world, you will be safe, 
safe amid groans and graves, safe amid the conflagration of 
all things, and certain of enjoying the society of all that was 
dearest to you on earth around God's throne of glory. 

" I hope you will believe these wishes sincere, for 1 can 
assure you, my dear friend, they are dictated by a tender 
regard for your best interests, and the sincerest friendship." 

January \st, 1823. Already I have entered upon a new 
year. It is profitable to pause here and look back upon the 
past. 

« 'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours, 
And ask them what report they bore to heaven." 

There is much to be grateful for and much to mourn over 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



103 



in reviewing the past. Ob, to be deeply penitent for past 
transgressions and shorlconnings, and to bave nnore grace, 
and spirituality, and hunaility, and zeal, for the future. God 
knows the history of my immortal spirit, and the influence 
these passing periods exert upon my future prospects and 
eternal destiny. Oh, thou author of my mortal and immor- 
tal nature, enable me here, on this solemn boundary between 
the misspent past and all the unknown future of my being, 
to dedicate myself to thee. Thou art still the same, amid 
all the vicissitudes of time and the circling ages of eternity. 
Thou hast made me capable of loving, serving, and enjoying 
thee, and hast implanted in my soul a desire for this high 
and holy exercise, and wilt thou not by thy grace satisfy that 
desire ? Use me in thy service here, and admit me to the 
enjoyment of thy presence hereafter, only for Christ's sake. 
Thy goodness I will record upon a review of the events of 
the past year, " amid changing scenes and dying friends." 
Thou hast followed me with thy tender mercies ; and oh, my 
God, whatever may be in reserve for me during the year to 
come, let me have a firm faith on thee and a sense of thy 
favour, and all will be eternally well. 



TO MISS A. J., OF PHILADELPHIA. 

" Princeton, Jan. 6th, 1823. 
" I trust I can reciprocate, and respond to your expres- 
sions of gratitude to God for all his goodness, and hope I 
feel, and may always feel, the glow of ardent love and de- 
vout acknowledgment which your letter expresses (in view 
of returning health.) But you have learnt enough of your 
own heart to be certain that you will lose all these delightful 
exercises, and relapse again into lukewarmness and love of 
the world, without the special aid of the Holy Spirit. May 
he take up his abode in your soul, and then all will be well. 



104 



MEMOIR OF THE 



" I hope you are thinldng and praying for the heathen 
to-day. This is a high day in Zion. May her King hear 
her cries, extend her borders, and give efficacy to every 

means adopted for the spreading of the gospel. Mr. T , 

of the Mariner's church in New York, preached here last 
evening, and took up a collection for the benefit of seamen. 
He mentioned some affecting truths respecting the deplorable 
condition of that class of men — their profanity, profligacy, 
impiety, ignorance, intemperance, and these in connexion 
with the fact, which was his text, that the sea is to give up 
the dead that are in it, and they are to be judged every man 
according to their works. Christians should pray for them. 

" I received a letter from Dr. M'Auley a few days since, 
in answer to one I had written him, inquiring whether I could 
have a mission for next vacation. He thinks it highly probable, 
though somewhat uncertain, as the society complains much 
for want of funds just now. ' But,' says he, ' get your 
license, and there is a glorious field for you somewhere. If 
I know you at all, you have no need to take any thought 
for the morrow. God will give you ground, and seed, and 
wages' (many souls.) He has just commenced his labours 
in New York." 

February 2Sd. " My soul cleaveth unto the dust ; quicken 
thou me according to thy word." This is my sad complaint, 
and this my constant prayer. Lord, hear me, and quicken 
me, and give me strength to rise. I have every day new 
mercies to acknowledge, new sins to confess. I have lately 
completed the twenty-sixth year of my life. Alas, 

" Much of my time has run to waste, 
And I, perhaps, am near my home." 

Oh God, may the work of sanctification advance with the 
progressive periods of my being, and every day may I grow 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



105 



in grace, and have some success in the warfare with my in- 
ward foes. Oh) do thou, my dear Saviour, undertake for me 
and perform the work, and take the glory which is thine for 
ever. As the time draws near for me to enter upon the sa- 
cred and awful work of the gospel ministry, cause earth and 
men, and the things of earth and all temporal things to sink 
down in my estimation to their proper insignificance ; and 
may eternity, and God, and heaven, and the worth of souls, 
and all the importance which three worlds can attach to hu- 
man character and conduct, occupy my thoughts continually. 
Oh, may I be sincerely desirous to be disposed of in the way, 
whatever it may be, that shall best subserve the interests of 
the Redeemer's kingdom. May I be willing to sacrifice my 
private wishes and plans, the love of ease and retirement, 
and every study, and whatever else the cause of the Lord 
Jesus Christ may require. May the path of duty be plain, 
and no matter how difficult, or dangerous, or disgraceful, 
only grant me thy grace, the guidance of thy spirit, the light 
of thy countenance, the supports of thine almighty arm, and 
all will be well. Oh, bring down every high thought, every 
lofty imagination. Deliver me from the ensnaring influence 
of pride and popular opinion. Enable me to preach Christ 
crucified in simplicity and godly sincerity, as one who feels 
the worth of souls, and must give account to God for all the 
motives with which he acts in his service. 

Sahbath morning, March 9th, This is a delightful 
morning — it looks like spring; and, blessed be God, it seems 
something like spring-time with nriy soul. Oh God, may 
the event prove that my long, long winter is past and gone. 

" Great Sun of Righteousness, arise — 
Bless my dark soul with heavenly lig-hf 

Oh, grant me to-day something of the ardour, and the love, 
and th^ purity, that animate the angels, and living creatures, 



106 



MEMOIR OF THE 



and the elders who worship around thy throne. What con- 
descension it is in thee to notice the worship of sinners upon 
the earth ; yet so it is, and glory be to thy name for ever. 

TO MISS A. J., OF PHILADELPHIA. 

''Princeton, March I2th, 1823. 

" I am pleased, my dear A., to find you distrusting your 
own heart, and disposed to be watchful lest the creature gain 
the supremacy over your heart's affections. It should make 
us humble, and alarm us, when we find any thing occupy- 
ing more of our thoughts than God, who preserves us, and 
who is jealous of his honour. He will not share our hearts 
with idols. If he has taken up his abode in our hearts, he 
will crush the idols down, or he will blast it with his breath, 
or remove it in mercy. 

"It is all-important that we settle the question you pro- 
pose on the subject of evidences of our adoption. I presume 
you do not expect me to go over them for you, as you can 
find them in God's word, whence I should draw them were 
I to mention them. i John iii. 3, 7 — 14 : Matt. v. 3 : xvi. 24, 
&;c. &c. 

" May God direct your inquiries, and grant you clear evi- 
dences that you are his, and that he is yours, the beloved of 
your soul, all your salvation and all your desire — Jehovah, 
your justifying righteousness, and Jehovah, your Redeemer." 

April ISth, 1823. I have been endeavouring to dedicate 

myself to God, and to examine again my motives in seeking 
the holy ministry. I am sure there is much that is impure 
in every thing I do, but I do humbly hope the ruling desire 
of my soul to be the glory of God, though I feel conscious 
of other things mingled in my mind and with my motives. 
But oh, thou searcher of hearts, thou knowest me altogether, 
and if thou hast not called me to serve thee in the; gospel 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



107 



ministry, I pray thee to set me aside. Suffer me not to run 
unsent. Carry me not up hence unless thou go with me. 
Oh, leave me not to myself, to my own strength and wis- 
dom, and to my own wicked heart and sinful inclinations. 
Leave me not to the influence of worldly principles and 
worldly motives, but sanctify my heart and purify my mo- 
tives, and guide me by thy counsel in every path of duty. 
I desire now to commit my way to the Lord. I desire to 
commit myself, soul and body, to the Lord. O, God the 
Father, for the sake of God the Son, do thou accept of me, 
and sanctify and save me by the powerful agency of God 
the Holy Spirit. Take me under thy peculiar care ; lead 
me wherever I should go, and be on my right and left hand ; 
defend me from every danger by land and by water. Assist 
me in every duty, and enable me to glorify thy most holy 
name, to recommend religion and to do good to souls. If it 
should please thee to arrest me by sickness and sudden 
death, let the covenant of grace be my security, and let me 
have a sweet sense of thy presence. And finally admit me, 
through Jesus Christ, my dear Saviour, into thy heavenly 
kingdom. 

TO MR. H. D. OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

" New York, April 22d, 1823. 

" I have waited to hear from you until I am discouraged. 
And have concluded to remind you that I have the inclina- 
tion and the strength to urge my claim, not upon your purse, 
nor patience, but upon your time and attention. My health 
has been much as usual, for the last few months. 

" I expect to leave this city this week, or the first of next, 
for the north. I hope to pass through Baliston on my re- 
turn from the west in June. I expect to spend two or three 
weeks in Montreal, U. C. And from thence proceed up the 
St. Lawrence and the lake, as far as Gennesee river and 



108 



3IE:>rOIR OF THE 



Rochester, to visit my parents once more, and return to 
Princeton to spend the summer. It is possible I may find a 
field for usefulness in Montreal that may induce me to re- 
turn there in October next. I have been here about one 
week. I was licensed to preach the gospel on Friday last. 
I should like to have a long interview with you, and speak of 
the duties and the dangers of the gospel ministry. But I 
have only time to say, at present, I have had many misgiv- 
ings. My heart has often sunk within me ; but, ' through 
Christ strengthening, I can do all things.' " 

" Steamboat Phenix, Lake Champlain, 
''April 29th, 1823. 

" You will perceive by the date of this what progress I 
am making in my journey. I have been disappointed seve- 
ral times, and misinformed, which has occasioned me some 
delay ; but to detail it all would be uninteresting, and not 
worth using time or paper for. 

" My health is quite good. I have just recovered from a 
severe cold, caught in New York, as usual. I spent the 
Sabbath in Waterford, where I only preached once, thinking 
it would not be prudent, on account of my cold. For this 
reason, also, I declined lecturing for Dr. M'Auley, on 
Wednesday last. This is to let you know that I am careful 
of my lungs when it is necessary. 

" We have but few passengers, as the season for travelling 
has not commenced. The boat is a very pleasant one, and 
captain S. much of a gentleman. This lake seems like a 
kind of inactive or sluggish river, between the hills, or ra- 
ther mountains, which present their steep and rugged, frown- 
ing and rocky bulwarks on each side, leaving often scarcely 
room for the management of the boat. 

*' I am now going on deck to see the remains of the cele- 
brated fort Ticonderoga. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



109 



"The ruins of the old fortification are very interesting ; 
and the grounds around them, which have so often swarmed 
with embattled hosts, who have long since mingled with 
the dust, even yet inspire sentiments of awe and melan- 
choly. 

" Montreal, May 1st. I have at last arrived at this place 
after a pleasant passage to St. Johns, and then rather a 
rough one to La Prairie ; from thence we came last evening, 
in an open boat, to this place. I had the pleasure of hear- 
ing the Canadian Boat Song in reality. It was interesting 
and beguiled much of the time in crossing the St. Lawrence. 

" I had scarcely seated myself in the City Tavern, before 
several gentlemen called upon me, giving me a most cordial 
welcome. This morning others. They are much engaged. 
I do hope God will send them one to lead them and guide 
them, and to dispense to them his holy word and ordinances. 

Of course I can say nothing of my feelings or prospects. 
My mind is perfectly at ease on the subject. 

" I am now at Mr. B.'s. I shall probably remain with 
him. Montreal is rather more pleasant than I expected to 
find it; and the field that is open here for ministerial activity 
and usefulness is very wide, and seems to be ripe, judging 
from what I have heard. 

" My cold is better. It is possible I may spend the whole 
of this month here, though at present I do not intend it." 



In April, of this year, Mr. Sanford was licensed to preach 
the everlasting gospel, by the Presbytery of New York. 
Immediately after that important event, he went to Montreal 
in Lower Canada, and spent several weeks in preaching to 
the American Presbyterian Church in that city. In this 
first scene of his ministerial labours he won, to an uncom- 

10 



110 



MEMOIR OF THE 



men degree, the affections of the interesting band of Chris- 
tians who formed that church. They were then destitute of 
a pastor, and, although Mr. Sanford spent but a few Sab- 
baths with them, they gave him a unanimous call to become 
their spiritual teacher. It will be seen, from the following 
letters and extracts from his journal, that after having deli- 
berated much on that call, and seeking, by consultation with 
judicious friends, and, above all, by prayer, for direction, he 
came to the conclusion that it was his duty to decline the ac- 
ceptance of that call. But although he did not feel it to be 
his duty to settle in Montreal, he never ceased to feel a very 
deep interest in that important city, as well as the important 
country in which it is situated. He correctly appreciated 
the natural advantages of the Canadas, and deeply felt that 
they constitute a great field for the labours of faithful minis- 
ters of the gospel. 

Montreal, May llth, 1823. I have preached seven times 
since I was licensed, and I know not that any one is the 
better for it. Oh, how impotent is man. Paul or Apollos 
may labour in vain unless God give the blessing. How 
should this reconcile me, unworthy, sinful me, to labour in 
faith and then to leave the event entirely with God. God, 
warm my heart and enkindle in my soul more love for sin- 
ners ; more love for souls ; more love for the kingdom of 
the Redeemer. Wilt thou use me for thy glory in any way 
and at any time. My life, my attainments, the talents thou 
hast given me ; all, all I would devote to thee. 

TO MISS A. J., OF PHILADELFHIA. 

" Ogdensburg, May 2Sd, 1823. 
"I left Montreal, as I expected, on the 19th inst. I ar- 
rived here this morning, after various fatigues and perils, 
which I have no time to recount. There is not a man here 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



Ill 



that I ever saw before; and not only am I a stranger in a 
strange land, but there is scarcely a possibility of my leav- 
ing the place unless I go back to Montreal. There are no 
stages from this village to any place. The roads, too, are 
very bad. 

" I begin this letter calculating to continue it as I have 
time and inclination. And to send it, or deliver it myself, 
when convenient. I expect to preach here this evening, and 
to ride near seventy miles to-morrow. 

" Auburn, May 28th. I have just arrived here ; and, hav- 
ing taken tea, will proceed to give you some account of my 
journey since I wrote last, as you see above. 

" I left Ogdensburg on Saturday last, and rode fifty miles, 
roads very bad. Staid all night at a place called the Great 
Bend. It is ten miles from Watertown. Found a fine, hos- 
pitable family. We had prayers in the evening, and I gave 
them some tracts. Rose at five and rode to Watertown. It 
was wet — I was completely drenched. Preached at Water- 
town twice. Rode to Brownville and attended a conference 
in the evening. Rode to Utica in two days (Monday and 
Tuesday.) Rode from Utica to Skeneatelas yesterday. 
Went to see my sister last evening. Returned from Skene- 
atelas to-day in time to take the stage for this place, (eight 
miles.) I leave this in the morning, at 3 o'clock, for Canan- 
daigua (forty miles) where I expect to dine. 

Manlius, June llth. I am nearly 150 miles on my 
way to New York. It is almost two months since I have 
heard a word from you. At Rochester I expected a letter. 

" Princeton, June 2Qth. I have arrived here at last, and 
have just put my hand to this old sheet again ; have con- 
cluded to fill it up and send it on, for I think it is yours by 
right. 

" My health is good, and I am rejoiced to find myself in 
my own dear room again, enjoying something of that tran- 



112 



MEMOIR OF THE 



quillity and retirement for which the seminary is so cele- 
brated. 

I have conversed with both of the professors, and they 
are at present of different opinions on the subject of my go- 
ing to the north. However, I hope to see them again in the 
course of the day, and to find them agreed to advise me to 
go. Yes — to go to Montreal. But I am not yet decided in 
my own mind. My heart must bleed in any decision. I 
cannot give the call from Montreal a negative without the 
keenest regret. I remember their anxiety. I remember the 
tears that glistened in so many eyes, when I told ihem I must 
go. I remember their entreaties that J would not forget 
them. And all this has been in a measure acted over in 
Brooklyn. I did hope to write this evening, and give a de- 
cided answer, but I cannot. I shall write, however, and tell 
them I am undecided. Let our united prayers ascend to God 
for his guidance and direction." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Princeton, June 2Sth, 182S. 

" The remarks you may hear of Montreal or Brooklyn 
I hope you will not regard. 

" Whatever people may say upon the subject, my mind 
has been most completely balanced. It is still so. 

" The professors still have different opinions on the sub- 
ject, and say ' they can well imagine my mind should be in 
great doubt and uncertainty, as to the path of duty,' and 
this is actually the case. And I can assure you, this moment, 
I think it quite as likely that I shall decide to go to Brook- 
lyn as to Montreal." 

TO THE SAME. 

''July 2d, 182.3. 
*' You may be a little disappointed when 1 tell you I have 
concluded to go to Brooklyn. After considering the subject 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



113 



as deliberately and as solemnly as I am able; and after 
seeking divine guidance, and committing my way unto the 
Lord, I have come to the conclusion that, according to pre- 
sent circumstances and appearances, I may hope to do more, 
by God's blessing, for the church and the world by settling 
at Brooklyn, than by going to Montreal. Still, however, at 
this moment I would gladly go to Montreal, if there was any 
man who would exactly suit the people at Brooklyn. 

"Should my hopes be disappointed, of being useful, I 
trust I shall have the confidence and comfort of feeling that 
it has all been ordered by the Lord. 

" I do aot expect to be ordained until October, probably 
about the middle of the month." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Princeton, 

" To-day have I been seated at the table of our dying, 
risen Redeemer ; and feeling disposed to speak of his good- 
ness, to whom would I so gladly enter upon the interesting 
theme as to you 1 

" My mind was peculiarly exercised this morning with 
desires stronger than usual, to meet the Master of the feast 
at his own table : to see the King in his beauty : to have 
Jesus Christ make himself known to me in the breakino- of 
bread. And I humbly trust, he heard and answered my 
prayer. I can surely-say that I have never had so precious 
a communion-season in Princeton before. 

" To go to the table of the Lord is the most solemn trans- 
action a creature can perform this side eternity. 

" The Lord's Supper commemorates an event, to the ac- 
complishment of which all the providences of God for four 
thousand years had almost an exclusive reference ; an event 
the most awful and stupendous that any world can ever wit- 
ness. The God of nature suffering on a cross by the hands 
10* 



114 



MEMOIR OF THE 



of his sinful creatures! And it exhibits an assembly of 
those creatures, sitting at a feast of their risen Lord, ransom- 
ed from eternal misery by the very blood they spilled, and 
professing their faith upon that once crucified, but now as- 
cended Saviour, who is now seated upon his eternal throne 
of glory, which he had left, for a while, to become the man 
of sorrows, and redeem a race of rebels from the conse- 
quences of their rebellion. And, oh, the amazing love of 
Christ ! the Babe of Bethlehem — the neglected carpenter's 
son— -the houseless wanderer, who had not where to lay his 
head — the agonizing, supplicating sufferer of Gethsemane — 
the bleeding, dying victim of Calvary — the tenant of the 
rock of Joseph — the rising, conquering, and now reigning, 
interceding Redeemer. Oh, these are subjects for the an- 
thems of eternity! These are themes for an everlasting 
song ! The everlasting song of blood-bought sinners saved 
by grace divine I 

And the consideration that increases our wonder is, that 
with all our hopes of salvation, thus purchased, we can be- 
come so insensible and indifferent to a Saviour's love. That 
we can continue in sin ! Oh, what a time to mourn over 
our sins, when we stand in sight of Calvary. Our love of 
sin, of the world, of self; our apathy, and coldness, and 
formality in the duties of religion ; our conformity to the 
irreligious opinions and practices of society; our forgetful- 
ness of God ; our neglect of duty ; our mockery in prayer; 
our idolatrous love of the creature ; our want of zeal for 
the spread of the Gospel ; our indifference to the misery of 
perishing millions — alas, for us, the long, humiliating cata- 
logue rises, black and awful, before us ! Oh, God of mercy, 
may it drive us to the Saviour, ' whose blood cleanseth from 
all sin.' Blessed, for ever blessed, be the name of our co- 
venant-keeping God, ' that he so loved the world as to give 
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 



EEV, JOSEPH SAXFORD. 



115 



should not perish, but have everlasting life.' Oh, let us go 
to him anew, if we have ever done it. And in a manner 
more solemn and unreserved dedicate ourselves to God. It 
is a work to be done in time, but it is for eternity. Oh, may- 
God have mercy upon us, and establish us upon the Rock 
of ages." 

TO THE SA3IE. 

" Princeton, July 19th, 1823. 
" I would have written to you yesterday, but a gentleman 
from Montreal called to see me, and spent the afternoon and 
evening, until near 10 o'clock, when he took the mail for 
New^ York. 

" Before I gave the i\Iontreal congregation a final answer, 
and wliile my mind was labouring, and distressed, and 
doubtful on the subject, I wrote to my friend, Jacob De W., 
Esq. As I had expressed myself doubtfully on the subiect 
of coming among them they concluded it very improbable. 
Mr. De W. was selected by the congregation, and prevailed 
on to come immediately to the United States and see me, 
before I should decide, hoping that his efforts would secure 
a favourable decision. He was detained, however, nearly 
a week. Before he left, the final decision was received. 
However, as he had some other business in the United States, 
he came to New York on Tuesday last, and arrived here in 
the evening. He came, as he expressed himself, 'not to 
unsettle my mind, or to distress me, but to see me as a dear 
friend, whom he tenderly loved, and who, he had fondly, 
humbly, hoped, would be the means of leading him, and all 
that are dear to him, to Christ and to glory.' I can assure 
you, when he described the effect of my first letter upon the 
people, though it was by no means decided in its character, 
I felt as if my own heart would burst, and that I would give 



116 



MEMOIR OF THE 



all the world, were it mine, could I see the path of duty lead- 
ing me to Montreal. 

" But for the present, I feel it my duty to go to Brooklyn. 
I say, for the present, because I feel satisfied as to present 
duty ; and that is all one should be anxious about. A long 
career in the gospel ministry has never entered into my fond- 
est anticipations. The length of the race is a trifle, com- 
pared with the manner in which it is run. Oh, may God 
enable me, while I live, to live to his glory, and to be active 
in his service. And when (through strength derived from 
God) his work is done, whether it be done sooner or later, 
may I be prepared to enter into his heavenly kingdom. 

TO THE SAME. 

*' My prayer is, that you may be useful in the church of 
Christ. There are many females (I mean wives of clergy- 
men) who seem to content themselves with making their 
husbands happy. Now this is well, as far as it goes. But 
I could not be contented to have a wife a mere satellite. I 
would have her shine with her own light, in all the mild 
glory of female excellence, and with the reflected rays of 
the Sun of righteousness. 

" The relation a female stands in to her husband, changes 
not her relation to the head of the church, and she is still to 
feel it her duty, as far as may be consistent with duties which 
arise out of the social relation, to exert herself for God and 
his cause ; and indeed the glory of God should be the mo- 
tive of every action. 

" Let us keep it constantly before our minds that our steps 
are ordered by the Lord. He will dispose of us in his own 
time and for his own glory. Besides, it may be possible 
that he may never design us to enjoy much of each other's 
society.* We hold all our comforts at his pleasure. And 



* How very prophetic ! 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



117 



he often frustrates the fondest schemes of his dearest chil- 
dren. We know not what is best for us." 

Princeton, August 17th, 1823. By the absorbing tide 
of business, though sustained every moment by the hand of 
God, I have been hurried through several months to the pre- 
sent time. I have been led through various exercises and 
anxieties. My Hfe has been preserved when it was in dan- 
ger. My wants have been supplied. Every cup has been 
filled with blessing. Every hour has been marked by some 
kind token of the Almighty's care. " Blessed be the Lord 
God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things ; 
and blessed be his glorious name for ever and ever ; and let 
the whole earth be filled with his glory." f desire, with my 
own hand, to subscribe to the goodness of God. I am un- 
grateful and sinful, prone to wander from him. Unworthy 
of the least mercy, deserving of every frown and the fiercest 
displeasure, ruined and helpless, but still rebellious. Oh 
God, why am I spared, spared in the midst of so many pro- 
vocations ; spared in the enjoyment of so many blessings, 
and privileges, and hopes ! I desire to be thine. 1 desire to 
accept of the offers of mercy, through Jesus Christ, and to 
know, by a more distinct and satisfactory experience, the 
richness and the suitableness of that salvation which it is 
my business to preach to others. I desire to be united to 
Jesus Christ by a Hving faith ; to be really in him, and thus 
free from condemnation. To feel the purifying influences of 
that spirit of adoption which dwells in the believer's soul ; 
to feel the power of sin growing weaker, and love to God 
and holiness growing stronger every day ; to be convinced 
more and more deeply of my native sinfulness and misery, 
and to cast myself upon Jesus Christ for wisdom, righteous- 
ness, sanctification and redemption. 

This work, O God, thou alone canst perform. O wilt 



118 



MEMOIR OF THE 



thou work mightily in me and for me, and show me thy 
salvation and thy glory. 

Avgvst 2\st. This day to be observed as a day of spe- 
cial humiliation and prayer. I have been endeavouring to 
confess my sins, and humble myself before God ,* but, alas, 
there is so little sensibility, so little deep repentance, so much 
languor and coldness, so hard a heart, such vagrant feelings 
and thoughts, and such barrenness of soul as to make me 
apprehensive that I have never tasted the love of God. I 
have endeavoured, however, to feel my sinfulness and help- 
lessness, and to give myself away to God my Saviour, to 
be saved in his way and upon the ground of his finished 
work and perfect righteousness. ]\Iy only hope is in the 
friend of sinners. If I fail here I fail for ever. O Jesus 
Jehovah, I am resolved to rely upon thee alone. It is a 
faithful saying, that thou didst come into the world to save 
sinners. O make me a subject of mercy and a trophy of 
thy rich grace. 

Sabbath mornings Sept. 1th. To-day T expect to go 
again to the Lord's table. Oh Saviour of sinners, soften 
and sanctify my heart. Ma}^ I feel more humble, and come 
to thy throne of grace sensible that all my help must come 
from thee. I would spread all my wants before thee. I 
w^ould dedicate myself to thee. I would be thine, and thine 
for ever; draw me to thyself; bind me to thy throne; take 
possession of this soul of mine, oh Holy Spirit, and make 
it thy temple. 

With the month of September Mr. Sanford ended his happy- 
residence in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, and bid 
adieu to that beloved institution and its many privileges. 
On the 25th of that month he was married to Miss Anna 
Jackson, then of Philadelphia, but formerly of Trenton, N.J. 
Immediately after his marriage he went to Brooklyn, to take 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



119 



charge of the First Presbyterian Church in that city, to which 
he had received a call in the early part of the preceding 
summer. In that important and rapidly growing city he 
laboured with great faithfulness during more than five years. 
In this sphere his labours were eminently useful. His let- 
ters and journal will inform the reader through what over- 
whelming trials he was speedily called to pass. They will 
also show the progress which his own soul made in holiness, 
as well the success which attended his labours. It may 
not be improper to remark, that the mournful and almost 
instantaneous death of his wife was occasioned by a surgical 
operation. That her death produced a very deep, and last- 
ing, and sanctified effect upon the heart of her bereaved hus- 
band, is evident from what he has written. She was a 
woman of eminent piety and loveliness, and possessed un- 
common qualifications for the sphere into which she had but 
just entered when she was called away by death. 

In the death of his excellent wife Mr. Sanford found great 
and merited sympathy in many Christian hearts, which hast- 
ened to offer their consoling tribute. Among the many let- 
ters which were addressed to him at this afflictive crisis, that 
of the Board of Trustees of his church, and those of the 
Rev. Drs. Romeyn, Miller, and Richards ; that of Alexan- 
der Henry, Esq., as well as those of the Rev. Messrs. Hara- 
ner, Hall, Myers and Bishop, who had been his fellow stu- 
dents at the Theological Seminary at Princeton, may be 
mentioned as remarkably excellent. The last named of 
these young brethren and his wife, addressed to him a very 
dear letter from the Sandwich Islands, where they were 
labouring as missionaries. A few of these letters are here 
submitted to the reader. 



120 



MEMOIR OF THE 



''Brooklyn, Dec. I6th, 1823. 

" DEAR SIR, 

" The Board of Trustees, under a deep sense of the 
afflictive providence which has deprived their beloved pastor 
of a partner, and feeling as they do that the lies which sub- 
sist between man and wife are the most tender and the 
strongest that bind the human family together, the severance 
of them therefore cannot but be the most distressing. We 
will not presume to say what our feelings were at the heart- 
rending distress which you must have felt at so unexpected 
a disappointment of your temporal bliss. But, dear sir, per- 
mit us to say, we felt and do feel sincerely the distress which 
has fallen on our teacher, who, we trust, under providence, 
has come amongst us for our spiritual benefit. 

" We beg leave to tender to you our warmest sympathies, 
and the assurance of our affection and condolence as indi- 
viduals; and we are assured we are correct when we say, 
the affection the whole congregation feel towards you is 
almost unbounded. 

" We have been directed by the Board of Trustees to ex- 
press to you their desire, in their official capacity, to do all 
that is in their power for the advancement of your personal 
comfort and happiness ; and if there be any thing in which 
they can give effect to this desire at the present time, they 
would be glad to receive an intimation of your wishes on 
the subject. 

"In behalf of the Board of Trustees, we remain your sin- 
cere friends, 

" Elka>'ah Doolittle, Pres, 
" Silas Butler, Clerk:' 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



121 



" MY DEAR BROTHER, 

. " Permit me to mingle my tears with yours. You have 
indeed been called, at an early period, to suffering of the 
most acute kind and its consequence deep and prostrating 
sorrow. May your covenant God support you with the 
consolations of that covenant, and cause you to feel that he 
is your God and Father in Christ Jesus his Son. I com- 
mend you to him and to his blessing on this occasion, know- 
ing full well that if you are his, as I am persuaded, he will 
support and comfort you in this the hour of your affliction. 
The Lord God of his church be with you and bless you — 
enable you to carry out in your ministerial deportment the 
evidences of mediatorial fidelity to his own promises, who is 
our Jehovah, in righteousness and sanctification. 

" Your sympathizing brother in the common salvation, 

" J. B. ROMEYN." 

Princetoti, Dec. I9th, 1823. 

MY DEAR SIR, 

" I received, ten days ago, with unfeigned sympathy, the 
intelligence of the heavy bereavement with which it has 
pleased an infinitely wise and sovereign God to visit you. 
Be assured you have not been forgotten in those approaches 
to the throne of grace which my companion and myself are 
in the habit of jointly making ; and I should have taken an 
opportunity of expressing to you our kind remembrance, had 
not a variety of circumstances, and among the rest a tem- 
porary interruption of health, prevented my enjoying a mo- 
ment's leisure until this time. 

" We little thought, eight weeks ago, when we saw you 
and your excellent companion going to New York together, 
that she would so soon take her flight to a better world. 
But it is all well — infinitely for the best. God has been 

11 



122 



MEMOIR OF THE 



pleased, indeed, in your case, to sever the tenderest ties that 
human nature knows — and, of course, to lay upon you one 
of the heaviest earthly calamities. But, oh how much mercy 
is mingled with the affliction ! How seldom is it that sur- 
viving friends have so much evidence of the safe and happy 
departure of any one, as in the case of your beloved, and 
now, we doubt not, glorified partner ! For this you have 
reason evermore to bless God, and to have his praise conti- 
nually in your mouth. The Lord grant that while your 
heart is wrung with that anguish which such an event oughty 
in some respects, to produce, you may be enabled more than 
ever to rejoice in God your Saviour, and to praise him for 
the great mercies attending this dispensation ! May He who 
has inflicted the stroke send the balm of consolation, and en- 
able you to say, It is good for me to be afflicted ! 

" My dear young brother, perhaps the Lord, by thus early 
trying you in the furnace of affliction, intends to prepare you 
for a course of peculiar devotedness to his cause, and of 
peculiar usefulness. If so, will you not have reason for 
ever to praise him for it 1 If so, will not one of the most 
mysterious dispensations that has lately come to my know- 
ledge, prove to be full of light, and mercy, and joy, in the 
end? 

" I am unexpectedly cut short in my letter by an inter- 
ruption, and have only time to add, again, the assurance of 
affectionate remembrance in our prayers, that the God of all 
grace may bless and comfort you. 

" I am, my dear sir, with cordial sympathy, your friend 
and brother, 

" Samuel Miller. 

" Rev. Mr. Sanford." 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



128 



" Auburn, Dec, 19th, 1823. 

" MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND, 

" Your letter, conveying the mournful tidings of the sud- 
den departure of your dear wife and our very dear friend, 
our beloved child I may say, has filled us with astonishment 
and grief. How marvellous are God's ways, even towards 
his own children, and often how dark and distressing. My 
dear sir, our hearts bleed with your heart under this sudden 
stroke, and with the hearts of the dear sisters. Poor things ! 
how desolate are they made by this unexpected change, as 
well as you. Anna was mother, sister, all to them ; they 
looked to her and depended upon her for every thing. I 
never saw such maternal care and tenderness on one part, 
and such affectionate confidence on the other, among sisters. 
But the tenderest relations, and the most distinguished vir- 
tues, present no barrier to the unwelcome tread of death. 
He marches through the thickest ranks, and lays our proud- 
est hopes in the dust, just where and when he receives com- 
mand. God however is upon the throne, and nothing, blessed 
be his name, falls out beyond or aside from his counsels. 
The darkest dispensations of his providence are all light to him, 
and to us they will one day appear as bright as the noontide 
sun. But what shall we do in the meantime, while clouds 
and darkness are round about him, and his paths are in the 
mighty deep? We can only bow at his feet, and say, 
Righteous art thou, O Lord, when thou speakest, and clear 
when thoujudgest. This we know to be our duty, and that 
our happiness is connected with it ; but often it is not easy to 
take this position, and to bring our hearts to this state of 
humble and cheerful acquiescence. Passion rebels, while 
reason says, be still. I have found, my dear brother, that in 
very trying conjunctures it was in vain to reason ; that the 
tempest was too strong to be resisted by such feeble means ; 
that Almighty grace alone could be resorted to as furnishing 



124 



MEMOIR OF THE 



the adequate relief. Thanks to the God of all the earth that 
a way has been opened to his throne, and that there, in the 
name of our great advocate, we may come with all our wants 
and woes, with the kind assurance that we shall not be sent 
empty away. I need not tell you that in prayer you will 
find the truest support, and the only satisfactory pledge of a 
happy issue to this trial. You must not be surprised, if, 
while it is dark without, it is dark within also. When God 
hides his face in the external administration of his providence, 
it is not uncommon for him to withdraw the inward tokens 
of his favour. It was so in the case of Job, and often so 
with David, as the history of their trials clearly evinces. 
This indeed makes the cloud of affliction doubly dark, but by 
no means less salutary. It is especially calculated to bring 
sin to remembrance, and to lay us more effectually in the 
dust. 

Your situation has greatly affected me, and continues to 
occupy my thoughts. After my feeble manner, I do not 
cease to remember you and the dear sisters in my prayers. 
Some good thing no doubt God intends to accomplish by this 
surprising visitation. Perhaps it is to bring some of the ac- 
quaintance and the relatives of the dear departed saint to the 
knowledge of the truth ; perhaps to make you a more holy 
man and a better minister. I pray God to sanctify it to 
us all, by keeping us more awake to our frailty, more active 
in his cause, and more perfectly ready for our last sum- 
mons. 

" We had anticipated much pleasure in seeing you and 
your dear friend next summer at Auburn ; but how little do 
we know what a day may bring forth. Where any of us 
shall be then is known only to him who holds our destiny in 
his hand. Still let me hope that I shall see you here before 
many months shall have past. * * * 

" Mrs. R. and my sons desire an affectionate remembrance 



REV. JOSEPH SANPORD. 



125 



to you. They all tenderly sympathize with you in this great 
trial, and feel with myself that we have sustained a great 
loss. 

" Very sincerely and affectionately yours, 

" James Richards. 

" Rev. J. Sanford." 

" Philadelphia, Dec. 8th, 1823. 
" reverend and dear sir, 

" It is with a trembling hand and sympathizing heart I 
take up my pen. Nothing in nature could be more unex- 
pected to me than the doleful intelligence your letter conveys. 
May the Lord grant his blessing to this heavy affliction. 
Often, my dear friend, I have thought of you and your dear 
companion. Every view I took of your prospects cheered 
my heart. Our beloved friend had a large share of my 
affections, indeed more like a parental than any other cha- 
racter, and I rejoiced in her prospects ; moreover, I had be- 
lieved that she had been effectually relieved from the painful 
local complaint. Think, then, my astonishment, when I 
learned the cause of her death was a surgical operation. 
The will of the Lord be done. I have, my dear friend, con- 
veyed the dreadful intelligence to poor M., her sister, and 
the family in which they reside, with all the care and ten- 
derness in my power ; but cannot say that it has been re- 
ceived even with tolerable resignation. Indeed, poor M. is 
overwhelmed ; till this moment she will hear nothing that is 
said. I trust, however, she will soon become more calm, 
and then it will be both the duty and the pleasure of Chris- 
tian friends to endeavour to promote a sanctified use of the 
affliction. 

" Heart-breaking as it must have been to you to communi- 
cate the facts, I am rejoiced to have them from yourself, and 
still more for the mercy that is extended to you. It does, 
11* 



126 



MEMOIR OF THE 



my dear friend, rejoice my heart that you still trust in the 
Lord. May his right hand sustain you ; may he open to you 
the riches of his grace ; may you be made ever to rejoice. 
And why not, my dear sir, rejoice? Your Anna, much as 
she loved you, is infinitely more happy than she ever could 
be with you. Dark and mysterious as this dispensation is, 
ere long you will see infinite wisdom and mercy in it. I am 
unwilling to let a mail return without a line from me, but 
i-eally I am not in a situation to write. You shall not be 
forgotten, my dear friend, nor will my attention to my dear 
children here be omitted. I wish, however, for your own 
sake, and their sake, you would come on as soon as vou 
can, 

" Very affectionately yours, 

Alexander Henry." 

Brooklyn, Dec, 1th, 1823. Alas! how short-sighted is 
man ! How Httle did I suspect what God had in reserve for 
me when I wrote last in this journal. How little did I ap. 
prebend that while this book was mislaid and no other re- 
cord made for three months, events of such deep, everlast- 
ing and mournful consequences would take place. My mar- 
riage, ordination, and the death of my beloved wife ! 

Oh God, thou art on the thione. Thou turnest man to 
destruction. My dearest comforts are' thy gifts, and thou 
hast a right to recall them. Thy will be done, O righteous 
God. Though my heart bleeds, it is thine holy hand that 
has inflicted the blow. pour in the balm of Gilead. O 
sanctify me, pardon and support me till I have done and 
suffered all thy will, and then receive me to thy kingdom to 
behold thy glory, and there to meet my dear, dear Anna, from 
whom I have been so unexpectedly, so mournfully separated 
on earth. May we meet to praise thee together. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



127 



Oh God, my God, let me fly to thee for strength and 
comfort under this severe stroke which thou hast inflicted. 
Oh, how little did I think, when I made the last record of 
thy goodness, that such a furnace of affliction was preparing 
for me. But why should I weep ? She is high in glory to- 
day, and is engaged in a nobler worship than she ever con- 
ceived below. Yet while I do weep and mourn I would not 
murmur. Oh God, I thank thee that I loved her and en- 
joyed her society so long. I thank thee for all the assurances 
her life has given that she was united by faith to the Saviour 
of sinners. I feel that I needed such a blow. However in- 
sensibly, I do feel that she was the idol of my heart ; that in 
the enjoyment of one of thy best gifts I had, in a degree, 
forgotten the giver. I am sure there was a silent, secret 
alienation of heart from thee. Oh God, draw me to thy- 
self. Show me thyself May I feel the joys of thy salva- 
tion. I feel an alarming coldness and barrenness. My 
heart does not melt although it bleeds ; and even while it 
bleeds I cannot realize that my dear, dear Anna is gone for 
ever. She is not here, but she seems to be absent but a little 
while, and that she will soon return. Oh God, may I .feel 
that she is sleeping the sleep of ages beneath the cold clods 
of the valley. May I have that heartfelt reconciliation to 
the high decisions of thy will that shall enable me to say, 

Sleep on, dear dust ; the spirit that once animated thee is 
now in glory: I would not call it away from its glorious em- 
ployment and the glories that surround it, if it were even in 
my power to do so." 

Oh God, sanctify this tremendous blow to me, and make 
it the means of preparing me more effectually for the work 
to which thou hast called me, than her life, and company, 
and assistance could have done. I do believe it is for her 
good, and I pray that it may be for my good. She was in 
danger of loving me too much, and of making me her idol. 



128 



MEMOIR OF THE 



Besides, she had the seeds of a disorder that, in all probabi- 
lity, would have ised her great bodily suffering, and on 
these accounts it was good for her to go ; and, as much as 
she loved me, much as her heart would have bled, had she 
anticipated such a separation, I believe that though now, 
from the heights of Zion, she may remember me on earth, 
and the painful circumstances in which she left me, it will 
give her no pain, it will not alloy the bliss of heaven, and 
that she would not for the world return to earth. Her work 
is done, her course is ended, her conflict is over, her victory 
over sin and death is complete, her harp is strung in glory, 
and she has already engaged in the everlasting songs of 
eternity. 

Oh God, forbid that this providence should be in vain : 
may it be the means of bringing me more humbly to thy 
feet, and enabling me to serve thee with my whole heart. I 
have often prayed that 

" The dearest idol I have known. 
Whatever that idol be," 

might be torn from thy throne, that I might worship only 
thee. But how little did I suppose that my wife was that 
idol ! How little did I think that the dear partner of my 
joys and sorrows, the dear friend I looked upon as one of 
God's most distinguished gifts, as one of the tokens of his 
love to me, was, in any way, a hinderance to me, or that she 
was occupjdng the place in my affections which belonged to 
her Saviour. It would have made her heart bleed to think 
so. I believe she would rather have died. But she was not 
called upon to make the painful decision. She was not made 
acquainted with the painful truth. I do not think she was at 
all conscious of the approach of death. I do believe she 
found herself in eternity, welcomed by the Saviour she loved, 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



129 



to the joys of Paradise, before she was conscious of having 
left her body, and pain, and disease, and sin behind. 

I do believe, O my God, that this providence is what I 
should rejoice in, could I see the whole case in all its causes 
and consequences. I know that it is right. I desire to feel 
more heart-submission; not the mere submission of neces- 
sity to a thing which I cannot control, or to a decision which 
1 cannot reverse, but the submission of filial affection that 
rejoices to know a father's will, and feels that it is best. Oh 
God, grant me this filial submission. O let not this affect- 
ing call of thy providence be unheard or unheeded. But 
may I learn what it is designed to teach me. May I repent 
of the sins of heart and life, for which it is a severe but 
righteous chastisement. May I arise, and in the strength of 
the Lord, go about the work in which it admonishes me to 
be up and doing and to be faithful. Oh may I give all dih- 
gence to prepare for that eternity which is so near. May 
her dear orphan sisters be supported and directed to the or- 
phan's father. -0 may they now at last lean upon thine 
arm, when their last earthly prop is broken down. God of 
mercy pity them, pardon them, sanctify them, and prepare 
them, when their race is run, to follow her to glory. 

May this church and congregation hear the voice from the 
grave and from eternity, that calls most affectingly to them 
to improve the time, to prepare to die, to be reconciled to 
God. 

December 9. And, oh my God, from the very grave of 
my dear departed wife, may I set out to serve thee. Oh 
forgive my past unfaithfulness, unbelief and sluggishness: 
forgive my inordinate love of the creature and my forget ful- 
ness of thee. O heal the aching, bleeding wound in my heart 
by the comforts of thy salvation. I desire to bid earthly 
things a last farewell. I desire to live alone for God. I de- 
sire to choose thee for the portion of my soul. To draw my 



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MEMOIR OF THE 



joys and consolations from the heavens. To serve the Lord 
with all my powers, and love him with all my soul. May 
this be the business of my days. Oh God, may I have a 
livelier sense of thy presence. May I not be disappointed 
of thy favour. I desire to rely upon thy mercy, and to live 
by faith upon the Son of God in the faithful performance of 
every duty. 

Towards the close of this year Mr. Sanford received a 
second call to the American Presbyterian Church and So- 
ciety in Montreal. This call was accompanied with many 
pressing letters from some of the most influential men in that 
congregation, earnestly entreating his acceptance of it. 
Among the gentlemen who wrote to him on this occasion, 
were Messrs. De Witt, Bigelow, H. Gates and the Rev. Mr. 
Purkis. These letters attest the very deep affection which 
was cherished for Mr. Sanford, in that city, and the high 
opinion which was entertained of his qualifications as a mi- 
nister of Jesus Christ. But after mature and prayerful de- 
liberation, he felt it to be his duty to continue in the field of 
labour upon which he had just entered. 

January ^th, 1824. Sabbath evening. After a day of 
laborious exertion, O my God, my supporter, I would com- 
mit all my duties, my preaching, prayers, with my soul and 
body to thy mercy and grace, to be purified by the blood of 
Jesus, and to be blest. O God, sanctify me, forgive me for 
dwelling so much upon the dying scenes and mouldering 
dust of my dear, departed, glorified wife. O God, sanctify 
me ; may I be ready to follow her, but not be impatient. 
May I serve thee faithfully and successfully while I Hve. 
Oh bless the people of my charge. Though I speak to them 
in great simplicity, that all may understand, yet they will 
not without thy blessing. Bless the word and ordinances. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



131 



Awaken sinners to a sense of their awful danger while out 
of Christ; and may they be converted unto God. Prosper 
thy cause every where. Much good seed has been sown 
to-day. 

January 25th. Once more I have been allowed to speak 
in thy name, O God. Wilt thou own thy word, however 
feebly spoken. I have been dwelling on the glorious truth, 
that there is " no condemnation to those who are in Christ 
Jesus." May thy people learn to appreciate their spiritual 
privileges, and to honour him with soul and body, who has 
freed them from the curse of the law. 

May sinners seek such a union to Jesus Christ as shall 
entitle them to the strong consolations of those who have 
fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them in the 
gospel. Oh God, may I have more of that faith in the Sa- 
viour which I recommend to others. May I understand the 
plan of salvation better, and love it more and more. May 
I be more weaned from the world, and never again place 
my affections upon it. May I be excited by the sudden 
death of my dear, dear wife, to be always at work, and to 
be always ready for the summons that shall soon call me 
home. 

February 6, 1824. This day I enter upon the twenty- 
eighth year of my life. God only knows when, or in what 
circumstances, I shall end it. The last year of my life has 
been more eventful than all the rest. It is to-day two months 
since my dear, dear Anna, my life's loved companion, 
breathed her last. Oh death, thou art indeed a conqueror 
commissioned to destroy. Oh my God, support me under 
the heavy hand of thy righteous chastisements. Be pleased 
to sanctify the stroke that has cloven down my earthly stay 
and comforter ; and left me in desolate grief to toil through 
life's pilgrimage. May I lean upon thine arm. May thy 
presence more than make amends for the absence of my 



132 



MEMOIR OF THE 



dearest earthly friend ; and by the application of the blood 
of Jesus, may I be prepared to follow her to that world of 
unmingled peace, and purity, and holiness, and joy, where, 
I trust, she is now celebrating the wisdom of thy providence, 
the wonders of thy love, and the riches of thy grace. 

Sabbath, March 6th. Three months, to-day, since the 
dear wife of my bosom fell asleep in Jesus. Her dear dust 
is mingling with its kindred dust, but it shall rise again. It 
shall be raised incorruptible ; it shall be fashioned into a 
glorious body to lodge and accommodate the spirit that once 
inhabited it, and, together, freed from every imperfection, 
they shall dwell for ever in the house not made with hands. 

Oh happy Anna ! I can sometimes rejoice that you are at 
rest in glory. When I thinl: of my loss my heart bleeds 
afresh; but when I recollect what your gain is, what your 
blessedness is* I am satisfied to spend my days on earth in 
sadness, deprived of your dear enlivening society, and to 
toil on alone in the narrow, rugged, thorny path that leads to 
the hill of Zion. What tribulations and conflicts you have 
been spared; how much sorrow would have agitated that 
dear bosom; how many tears would have gushed from those 
eyes of tenderness and affection ; how many nights of sleep- 
less anguish and pain ; how many struggles with sin and 
Satan have you been spared ! How much your " dear, 
dear husband" might have hindered you in your heaven- 
ward course by engrossing so much of your time and your 
affections; and how much he might have suffered in spirit 
by continuing to love you too, too fondly, by allowing you 
to occupy a place in his heart's affections which no creature 
ought to fill. O my God and Father, sanctify me wholly, 
and guide me in every duty, and sustain me in every con- 
flict, and finally receive me to thyself. 

Sabbath evening, March 14:th. Another sacred day is 
gone. Another week of my life is gone. I am nearer to 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



133 



eternity by so many days. My dear Anna has been ano- 
ther week in glory. O God, my heart and my thoughts 
continue to follow her thither. May I be growing in grace 
and ripening for glory. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah. 
Assist me in deciding the question now before me, in such a 
way as will be for thy glory. O God, I desire to know 
thy will, and I think I desire and feel ready and willing to 
do it. O guide me ; suffer me not to wander from the path 
of duty. Bless both congregations ; may they be supplied 
with the faithful preaching of the gospel. 

April 11th, Last Sabbath we had a precious season, and 
much to encourage us, at the Lord's table ; but how soon do 
we lose good impressions. On Wednesday evening, the 
service was unusually solemn ; but to-day the weather has 
been so unfavourable that very few have attended the courts 
of the Lord, and I know not whether any seriousness re- 
mains after all our recent solemnities. But, O God, the 
cause is thine ; the work is thine, the subjects and instru- 
ments are all thine. Thy people shall be willing in a day 
of thy power. Come, and let sinners be awakened in the 
midst of us. Lord, revive thy work. May I be more en- 
gaged. May I feel more for souls. O forgive ail ray feel- 
ings which are still so prone to murmur at the mysterious 
dispensations of thy providence. I would not, for the world, 
forget my dear, departed Anna, but I desire to cherish the 
warm remembrance of her love and her piety, with com- 
plete resignation as to the time and the manner of her re- 
moval. It was arranged by thy wisdom, and I desire to be 
still and submissive. 

Sabbath evening, May 2Sd. Had it been for thy glory, 
O my God, I had still enjoyed the society of my dear de- 
parted wife, and had it in my power to review, with her, the 
duties and enjoyments of the day that is just closed, and 
converse on the subject of our common salvation, and sing 
12 



134 



MEMOIR OF THE 



thy praises, and bow the knee in prayer. But it has pleased 
thee to remove her. O sanctify the loss. May I turn away 
from earthly things and think more of heavenly things, of 
communion with God ; and hold more converse with myself. 
O Lord, make me a better Christian and a better minister of 
Jesus Christ, by this awful stroke of thy providence. I de- 
sire to finish my work, to do and suffer all thy will con- 
cerning me, to be made holy, and then to be away to thine 
own heavenly kingdom, and there, among the ranks of blood- 
washed sinners, and with my much loved Anna, to adore 
and praise thee even for this severe stroke of thy providence, 
which I think I can never cease to mourn over while I live. 

God forgive and sanctify me, support me, and finally 
bring me home. Be pleased to follow with thy blessing my 
humble efforts to dispense thy truth to-day. O suffer not my 
unworthiness, and weakness, and ignorance to prevent a 
blessing on saints and sinners. 

TO MR. H. D. OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

Steamboat, Aug. 27th, 182^. 
" I left Ballston last evening, not without great regret that 

1 could not see you. Since last I met you the hand of the 
Lord has been heavy upon me, and my heart still bleeds 
with the wound, and mourns over the desolation it has left 
behind it. The revolution of eight months, and almost nine, 
has left me if possible more awfully sensible of the nature 
and the sad reality of my loss, than I have ever been before. 
But I know who hath done it. I do wish to bow to his mys- 
terious, righteous will, to do and suffer all he assigns me ; 
by it to be prepared for meeting my departed wife, and saints, 
and angels, and then to be away." 

Saturday, Sept. 25th, This is the anniversary of my 
marriage. It is one year since I was permitted to consum- 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



135 



mate one of the purest, fondest of earthly friendships, and to 
become the happy husband of my beloved Anna. Ah^ on 
that day that joined our hands, how little did I think of being 
so soon called to close her eyes. That within not more than 
three-fourths of the first year after our union, my dear wife 
would be sleeping the sleep of ages ! It was a righteous 
providence that dashed my earthly hopes to the dust, and I 
desire to be very humble under the hand of the Lord. But, 
oh God, let light, peace, and heavenly joy be poured into my 
desolated heart. I do not pray to have the wound immedi- 
ately healed : no, let it bleed, let my heart break and melt ; 
but let the love of Jesus warm it ; let the love of God fill 
it; let heavenly joys and glories attract it; let spiritual 
duties occupy my attention and my best energies ; let me 
do something to glorify God while I remain on earth; 
let me have bright evidence of adoption into the family of 
God ; more clear and convincing evidence of an interest in 
Jesus; an unshaken confidence in the promises of God, 
deeper hatred of sin in all its forms, and sweeter tokens of 
the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, an earnest of the joys 
above. Grant it, Lord of my salvation, for the sake of 
Jesus Christ. 

TO MR. H. D., OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

« Brooklyn, Oct, llth, 1824. 

" I received your kind letter in the regular course of the 
mail, and was glad to hear of your safe return. I hope you 
were all benefited by the journey, and that you found your 
excursion (what I seldom find one to be) spiritually profit- 
able, and that you are now endeavouring, with new resolu- 
tions and deeper sense of your weakness, to live for God and 
to God. Oh, press toward the mark, for the prize of your 
high calling in Christ Jesus. 



136 



MEMOIR OF THE 



" It might, my dear brother, have afforded me a momen- 
tary though melancholy satisfaction, to have recounted God's 
dealings with me since I had the pleasure of bowing with 
you before the throne of grace. God has bestowed many 
rich blessings upon me. But such is the greatness of my 
ingratitude, that I am continually forgetting God's mercies, 
under the absorbing, withering, tremendous stroke that has 
desolated my heart of all that gave life its charms. I feel 
at this moment as if my earthly prospects and hopes were 
dashed for ever. Time wears away the first transports of 
grief, and of convulsive, sleepless, and almost tearless agony 
— but it heals not the wound, it calls not the affections home 
that love to cling around the grave, where the fond com- 
panion of one's bosom sleeps the sleep of ages ; it repairs 
not the awful desolations which the hand of death has made. 

" It is one of my heart's warmest and most constant wishes, 
that seems to gain strength with every passing month, to do 
the work my Master has assigned me — to prepare for his 
kingdom, and then to be away. 

" Excuse me for saying so much of myself and my feel- 
ings. I have felt that I was writing to a friend. 

" I have nothing in particular to communicate respecting 
the state of religion in my congregation. Indeed, I dare not 
tell what I hope for ; but this I may say, I believe we have 
some who are * waiting for the consolation of Israel.' There 
is more attention than usual in several congregations in the 
city. ' Oh Lord, revive thy work.' " 

Sabbath evening, Oct. llth. This day completes one 
year of my ministry. Alas, how unfaithful! That God 
has been so near to me by his afflicting providence, and that 
I have had so little of his gracious presence ! Lrord, forgive 
all my unfaithfulness, prevent the injury of all my errors. 
Bless the word of life that I have preached. Suffer not my 
imperfections to prevent thy blessing ; but, Lord, bless thy 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



137 



word and ordinances, the means of thine own appointment. 
May I feel more for souls, more for God's glory. Enable 
me at all times to address sinners of every class as those who 
are soon to be in eternity, and for whom I have to render an 
awful account if they perish through my neglect. Grant 
me wisdom from above, which is profitable to direct both 
how to understand and how to divide to others the v/ord of 
God. May I not shrink nor be disheartened at difficulties 

I; and discouragements, but committing my way to the Lord, 
and relying on his guidance and his blessing, may I go for- 
ward in every duty. Oh, may I live near to thee by medita- 
tion, and constant, fervent prayer, and enjoy more of the light 
of thy countenance and the joys of thy salvation. 

^ November 28th. Oh, God of providence, it is not quite 
one year since thy righteous hand dashed my earthly pros- 
pects. Twelve months ago this evening, my dear Anna sat by 
my side, and we reviewed the duties, the delights, ths imper- 
fections of the day. She had been detained by indisposition 
from the sanctuary, but her last exhortation to me as I went 
out to perform my duties was, " Be faithfuV Oh God, 
bless her exhortations and her example, and may I profit by 
her fall. Sanctify, "Oh thou who driest the mourner's 
tear," sanctify the severe providence. 

Sabbath^ February 6fh, 1 825. Another anniversary of 
my birth. Another year of my life gone for ever, a year of 
sorrow it has indeed been to me. I pursue my solitary path, 
thinking perhaps too much " of joys departed never to re- 
turn," and too little, much too little, of joys in future pros- 
pect, bright and glorious, never to expire. Oh, my unbe- 
lieving, rebellious heart, how much it rejects the consolations 
which the gospel offers. Saviour of sinners, apply thy blood, 
cleanse me from all sin, assist me in every duty, support me 
under every trial, prepare me for heaven. May my future 
life be spent more for thy glory. 

12* 



133 



MEMOIR OF THE 



Tuesday evening, 2'2d. Have just heard of the death of 
my former pastor, the Rev. Dr. Romeyn, who died suddenly 
this morning, after a short illness. Oh how loud and af- 
fecting the call, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it 
with all thy might." 

Thursday, 2^th. Attended Dr. Romeyn's funeral. Oh 
that I may profit by the warning, and be also ready. May 
I work while it is day, as the night cometh when no man 
can work. 

Sabbath, 21th. Day stormy and unfavourable, church 
thin — all thmgs looked cold and dreary. 

2Sth. As usual, visited the sick. Met a few inquirers 
in the evening. 

March 1st. Spent the day in parochial visiting ; found 
some things interesting, especially this afternoon. This 
evening, at ten o'clock, visited a sick woman in a very happy 
state of mind. Oh that on my death bed I may be as calm 
and confident, upon clear, scriptural grounds. 

Saturday, oth. An unpleasant day; heart cold, mind 
melancholy and bewildered; httle comfort in prayer, and 
little success in study. 

6th. Felt unfit and unworthy to stand as God's ambas- 
sador to a congregation of sinners. Preached with a degree 
of feeling and tenderness from Balaam's wish, " Let me die," 
&c. — P.M. Brother Nettleton from Rev. xxii. 17: "And 
whosoever will, let," &zc. — In the evening, from " The Son 
of Man came to seek and save that which was lost." May 
the Lord bless his word and revive his work. 

7th. Visited the sick this morning. Bible class at two 
P. M. Prayer meeting of the Board of Missions at four. 
Missionary Society of Brooklyn at seven. Lord, hear the 
prayers of thy Zion for her prosperity and the extension of 
her borders. May thy kingdom come, O King of kings. 
Wednesday, 9th. Visited a careless smner, who is draw- 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



139 



ing near to eternity. Oh the hardening, blinding, stupify- 
ing nature of sin ! Unable to lecture in the evening on ac- 
count of a severe cold ; spoke a little on the supreme love 
which Christ requires, and the earnestness with which sin- 
ners should seek his mercy. 

April 3d. Disappointed to-day in my expectation of 
commemorating the Lord's Supper. Morning very stormy 
— postponed the service. Had a good time in preaching to 
a thin house, on seeking first the kingdom of God, &c. But 
not so much freedom this afternoon : Rom. iii. 23, " For all 
have sinned," &c. 

April 10th, Lord's Supper celebrated ; a precious season, 
solemn and silent. Oh that good may be done — that sin- 
ners may be awakened, saints encouraged and strengthened. 

June SOth. Have felt very feeble and languid for several 
weeks, so as to have little comfort in any duty. But the 
Lord has been gracious ; some few sinners have been added, 
I hope, to the Lord, and some others are anxious for their 
souls. Some are about to name Christ before the world. 
Lord, search and try them. Felt much freedom last night 
in prayer for a revival, and in addressing the people from 
Ps. Ixxx. 14, " Return, we beseech thee, God of Hosts : 
look down from heaven, and behold and visit this vine." 
May the Lord revive us, and grant us all the blessings of 
his grace. 

Friday evening. Preached a preparatory lecture on 
hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and the blessings 
of it. 

Sabbathy July Sd, Though very weak, and scarcely able 
to go through with the exercises, preached from Solomon's 
Song ii. 10 — 13 : " Rise, my love, my fair one come away." 
Urged Christians to the duty of aetivity and faithfulness in 
God's service, from their particularly favourable circum- 
stances and blessings. Was assisted at the table by Dr. 



140 



MEMOIR OF THE 



M^Auley, very opportunely and ably. May the Lord reward 
him, and bless the whole solemnity. Oh to feel more spi- 
ritual life — to work as for eternity, now so near ! 

August \^th. Returned after an absence of several weeks. 
My health but little improved. Lord, strengthen me for thy 
service. May I live and labour like a dying man commis- 
sioned to publish salvation to dying men. Oh Lord, revive 
thy work. 

August 2\st, Preached this afternoon from 2 Cor. iv. 3: 
" But if our gospel be hid," &c., with much feeling and com- 
fort. In the morning, from 2 Cor. iv. 13: "We also be- 
lieve, and therefore speak." Had but little freedom. Felt 
very deeply the importance of the subject before service, but 
as on similar occasions before, my thoughts and utterance 
confined and inadequate. The Lord bless his own word, 
however feebly delivered. 

2Qth, To-day resumed the consideration of the moral 
law : preached all day from the third commandment, with 
tolerable freedom and comfort. But more in some desultory 
remarks in the evening on Christ as an advocate, and the 
importance of the cause we have to commit to him. 

Wednesday evening. Lectured with some degree of feel- 
ing on Ps. ciii. 11, 12. O Lord, teach me the greatness of 
thy mercy, and may I know by sweet experience that it is 
great, and high, and glorious, as the arch of heaven. 

Sept. Uh. Preached to-day on the fourth commandment, 
on the subject of its permanent authority, as appears from 
the situation and authority of the text. The general tenour 
of sacred scripture in relation to it. The circumstances of 
the original institution, Gen. ii. 3. From its indispensable 
importance to human society, and families, and individuals. 

2bth, This day I have completed the discourses on the 
fourth commandment, by attempting to show how the Sab- 
bath is to be improved in God's service. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



141 



This day completes two years since I was married. My 
heart still bleeds. O God, bind it up. I am not so much 
in danger of forgetting this desolating stroke, as of misim- 
proving it. Oh may it be the means of weaning me more 
completely from this world, and of quickening me in prepa- 
ration for eternity. Oh that the language of my heart might 
be, " Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none 
that I desire on earth but thee." May I be more faithful in 
my duties, more engaged in prayer for myself and my dear 
congregation, and may thy Spirit be sent down upon us to 
revive us. Follow the services of this day with thy special 
blessing. 

October 2d, 1825. This has been another day of high 
spiritual privileges — a sacramental sabbath. I attempted 
this morning to show the meaning of Rom. x. 10. Re- 
marked at the table on the erecting a spiritual monument in 
honour of Jesus Christ, and on the use of the sacramental 
supper to the faith of Christians. Presented subjects of the 
best kind for contemplation — God, eternity, heaven, hell — 
to teach the insignificance of the world, and that this is not 
our rest ; and that our Lord will come again in grandeur 
and great glory. This evening presented the subject of 
Simeon's embracing the infant Redeemer, as the foundation 
of some practical remarks on the importance, the nature, and 
the effects of looking to Christ. Oh God, accept of all my 
feeble and polluted services ; forgive all my coldness, igno- 
rance and unfaithfulness; accept also of my sinful self, 
cleanse me with the blood of sprinkling, and fit me for nobler 
services above. 

October 9tk. To-day endeavoured to present the duty of 
children to obey and honour their parents, and of all who 
have living parents to honour and comfort them, and be 
grateful for their kindnesses. Oh that for myself I could 
do more to repay my dear mother and father for their days 



142 



MEMOIR OF THE 



and nights of anxiety and toil for me. My God, bless them 
with the richest of thy blessings, even life for evermore. 
The congregation really appears solemn and very attentive. 
Oh, may they be doers of the word, and not hearers only, 
deceiving themselves. In the evening a peculiar stillness 
seemed to mark the whole assembly, when I was discoursing 
on the importance of the present moment of time as the start- 
ing point in a career of glory or of wo ! Oh God, come and 
revive us, and bless thy word — make thy truth effectual. 

Monday y 10th. I feel an indescribable languor upon my 
frame, and depression of spirit. Oh how httle have I done 
for God — how much of my time has run to waste. How 
little do I feel for the condition of sinners, compared with 
what I ought to feel. How low my attainments in holiness. 
God of mercy and grace, quicken me in every duty, and 
suffer not my unworthiness to prevent thy blessing. Oh 
Lord, revive thy work in the congregation, and especially 
in my own soul. .< , 

October I6th» This day completes the second year of 
my ministry in this place. Here have I laboured two years 
for the glory of God, the good of souls — with what fidelity, 
and zeal, and prayer, and singleness of heart, oh God, thou 
knowest. I have reason to blush and be humbled before 
thee, that I have been so unfaithful — that I have done so 
little of what I should do, and so little as I should do it. The 
world, and probably my congregation, do, on the whole, ap- 
prove my ministry, yet I have reason to fear that the church 
will give me credit for more, much more than I deserve. 
The success with which thou hast blessed my labours is not 
owing to my faithfulness or purity of motive, but it is to be 
ascribed to thee alone. Thou dost employ the most unwor- 
thy instruments to perform thy work, and I would fiy to thee, 
oh my Saviour, for forgiveness for all my sins, and for the 
purification of all my services. I do delight in thy service ; 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOKD. 



143 



I do rejoice to tell sinners of the grace and glory of the gos- 
pel, and to see them repent and turn to thee. Oh may I 
have more zeal, and love, and faith, and be enabled to be 
more diligent in business and fervent in spirit in all that re- 
mains of my mortal career, and at last be called home to 
glory. 

January 1st, 1826. A new year has already commenced 
and the last has fled for ever, and borne with it the record 
of my life. What awaits me in the present year I know 
not— but one thing I desire to know, that the Lord Jesus 
Christ is mine— O let me but be sure of this and I will smile 
at the rapidity of the flight of time. ' . 

Sabbath evening, 8th, The Lord's supper, which was 
postponed last Sabbath, has been celebrated to-day, and I 
hope it has been a profitable season to many souls. I preach- 
ed a second sermon on Luke, xxiv. 26, but felt astonishingly 
cold in meditating on the suflferings of Christ. I ascribe it, 
in part, to indisposition, but more to an alarming and dis- 
tressing degree of spiritual barrenness and deadness. O 
God, revive thy work in my soul. Forbid that after preach- 
ing to others I should myself be cast away. Create within 
me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 

"The rocks can rend, the earth can quake, 
The sea can roar, the mountains shake; 
Of feeling all things show some sign, 
But this unfeeling heart of mine. 

« To hear the sorrow thou hast felt, 
Dear Lord, an adamant would melt; 
But I can read each moving Mne, 
And nothing melt this heart of mine." 

Felt more animated, this afternoon, in administering the 
holy supper ; received fourteen persons on examination, and 
eleven by certificate. O that they may all walk worthy of 



144 



MEMOIR OF THE 



the vocation wherewith they are called, and belong to the 
invisible family of the Redeemer. Lord, watch over the 
sheep of thy pasture and the lambs of thy flock. 

February 5th. To-day I have been once more permitted 
to publish God's message from Mai. iii. 10, and John, vi. 44, 
and to apply them both in an exhortation with some degree 
of freedom this evening ; but oh how little feeling ! Alas, 
my barrenness. I tell others of their danger, and duty, and 
unfaithfulness, when I only describe, in the latter, my own 
history ! Oh God, if I have ever been convicted by the 
Spirit of God and drawn to J^sus Christ, may I have more 
sensible tokens of his love. But this I cannot expect while 
I am so unfaithful and cold in my religious duties. If I am 
yet unregenerate, oh God, may I become truly and alarm- 
ingly sensible of my state and danger, lest after preaching 
to others I be cast off for ever myself. 

I think my own unfaithfulness is a sufficient reason why 
God does not bless my congregation with a revival. 

Monday, Feb. 6th. This day is the twenty-ninth anni- 
versary of my birth. Retired last night exhausted by the 
services of the day, and was very restless in the night, though 
I feel mercifully refreshed this morning, and have, as usual, 
been visiting some of the sick in the congregation. But, 
beside my usual pastoral duties, I have to begin a new year 
to-day. Oh how the past has fled ! How little done for 
God; how little for eternity! How little have I Uved and 
laboured like a dying man. How little have I ever done for 
the years of my life that have gone by. The half of a long 
life— and my life may not be long— and then it is almost 
spent. Oh that I may begin to redeem time, as the be- 
nighted traveller mends his pace as evening advances. Lord 
I would devote myself to thee. I would feel more spiritual 
life. I do not enjoy the world, but I fear my disrelish is 
ever occasioned by the stroke of God's providence that has 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



145 



t-loven down my comforts and withered the tenderest sensi- 
bilities of my heart, and carried them down into the very 
grave. 

Sabbath evening, 12th. This day I have been preaching 
of the rich worldling, both parts of the day, with some de- 
gree of feeling. Feel somewhat tender in prayer this even- 
ing, in view of the awful duties of my sacred office. Oh to 
have the spirit of it, and to be faithful in it. May the Lord 
bless the message of his truth, O may every worldling in 
the congregation be brought to feel his danger and fear his 
doom ; and do thou speak to them this night, not to summon 
them to eternity, but to call them to repentance, convince 
them of sin, and lead them to Jesus Christ. 

February 26lh. I wish to have enough of the gospel in 
every sermon to lead the sinner to the Saviour. Last Sab- 
bath preached on the incompatibility of the love of the 
world and the love of God. 1 John, ii. 15. " If any man," 
&c. In the afternoon, from Zech. xiii. 1. O precious 
truth ! The day has dawned, the prediction is fulfilled, the 
fountain is opened " for sin" to take away its guilt, " for un- 
cleanness" to remove its pollution. 

To-day I have been showing the case of the young ruler, 
Matt. xix. — as an example of the influence of the love of 
the world and the consequence of wanting love to God. O 
fearful price he pays for the enjoyments of the world. This 
afternoon spoke of the cities of refuge and the law that re- 
lates to them as illustrating the guilt, danger and remedy of 
sinners. This evening have been speaking of the suitable- 
ness of the law to prepare man for the gospel ; and that if 
so amiable and moral a man as the young ruler was lost, 
because he had no love to God, what should those think who 
are, perhaps, less moral, &c. Oh God, do thou own thine 
own truth and bless it as dispensed to-day. May my whole 

13 



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MEMOIR OF THE 



soul be bathed in the blood of Jesus, and may much more of 
his Spirit rest upon me at all times and in all duties. 

Tuesday, 28th, Heard to-day of the death of the Rev. 
Dr. Woodhull. This is a season of unusual mortality. I 
am conversant every day with sickness and death. Now 
the infirm old man, whose existence was a burden to himself 
and to those around him, on account of the loathsomeness 
of his disease. Now a wife and mother, in the morning of 
life. Now an infant whose eyes have just opened upon the 
world. And now the minister of Jesus, in the vigour of his 
days — all this within one week. Such, O death, are thy 
ravages ! O God, give me a just sense of the solemnity of 
my circumstances, and the importance of my duties as a 
man and as a minister. 

March 1th, This evening attended Mr. S. in his last 
moments. He expressed a firm hope in the divine mercy, 
through Jesus Christ, and has, during the day, been anxious 
to depart. Has given some comfortable evidence, during 
the last week, that his heart has been renewed. Has spoken 
repeatedly of the preciousness of Jesus, and of loathing 
himself on account of his sins. But, alas, how little, how 
little dependence should we place on such appearances in a 
man of health, unless attended by a holy life. All things 
are in God's hands, and it is righteous and wise in him to 
allow those who have not served him in health to leave the 
world without those triumphant evidences and assurances 
with which he sometimes blesses his tried and experienced 
followers. May none take occasion, from this providence, 
to delay the work of preparation for eternity till the hour of 
death. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



147 



TO MR. H. D., OP BALLSTON, N. Y. 

" Brooklyn, March 9th, 1826. 
" Yours of the 13th ult. was duly received. I had long 
looked for a line from you. I have heard, in general, of the 
course of events in B., but nothing of my friend D. I had 
hoped, however, that you were pursuing the march of your 
pilgrimage to glory, with a firm, and more accelerated speed, 
feeling the attraction that binds body and soul to the earth 
sensibly diminishing, and the flame of the love of Jesus 
rising higher, and brighter, and purer, to waft your soul 
upward towards his throne. May the Lord speed you on 
your way, and fit you and all that are most dear to you, for 
the society and the songs of heaven. * * * 
* # * * * 

" I have nothing to say of the state of religion here that 
is interesting. My congregation is becoming quite large 
enough, and the demands upon my time quite oppressive. 
My health is good at present, though it has been a season of 
much sickness and mortality, in the midst of us, and, indeed, 
throughout the country." 

March 26th. To-day have been reviewing the subject of 
the creation, to show that it is very good, and this afternoon 
from Rom. i. 18, have been striving to impress upon the 
minds of the people, and my own, that God hates sin, and 
has given many expressions of his hatred of it. Visited a 
dying woman in the interval of public worship, who has 
since expired. Thus the work of God goes on. I have 
reason to bless him that I felt somewhat tender in my ser- 
vices to-day, and strong desires to have the message of God 
blessed. Send thy blessing, O God, and then the word will 
be effectual. 



148 



MEMOIR OF THE 



"When thy good Spirit deigns to breathe. 
Life spreads through all these realms of death; 
Dry bones attend thy powerful voice. 
They move, they waken, they rejoice." 

Sabbath evening, April — , 1826, 11 o'clock, P. M. 
Auburn, N. Y. I have thought, as the stage is to go at 
12, it is not best to retire, but to wait and be in readiness for 
the summons. 

Now, O my soul, learn a lesson of the greatest impor- 
tance. Did I expect the coming of the Son of Man at " mid- 
night," am I ready? Should the cry be made to me at 
midnight, " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to 
meet him," is my lainp lighted, furnished, trimmed? Oh 
God, may I henceforth make it my great concern to be pre- 
pared for the hour of my final " departure," that so, when 
the period arrives, I may feel no more alarm than I now 
feel, when I am called to pursue my journey ; but that I may 
have the humble, holy hope and joy of a sinner saved by 
grace, who is just entering through the gates into the celes- 
tial city. 

April SOth, This is the second Sabbath since my return 
from a journey. I came home with desires to be more faith- 
ful in my private and official duties; but, alas, a great de- 
gree of deadness prevails; and I have reason to fear that I 
have none of the right spirit of preaching. I am sure that 
God sometimes makes use of wicked men to accomplish his 
work ; but none can calculate upon his blessing here or 
hereafter, but those who are full of the Holy Ghost and of 
faith ; and I am sure this is not my condition. I think, 
sometimes, that 1 do truly and ardently desire the salvation 
of sinners, and the prosperity of the cause of Christ; not 
for the credit and reputation of being a successful minister, 
but that his name may be glorified. But these desires are 
too cold and transient. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



149 



I have been preaching this morning on the history of the 
fall of man. This afternoon on the subject contained in 
Luke, xiv. 31, 32; and this evening, in the lecture room, 
on the grand test of Christian character, which consists in 
loving Christ more than any thing else. Have felt some de- 
gree of freedom and solemnity. Oh God, search and try me 
and thy people, and revive us. 

May lAth. Our interesting anniversaries have just been 
celebrated, and to-day three of my brethren, from different 
sections of the country, have supplied my pulpit. It is truly 
gratifying to see the union of so many hands and hearts in 
the benevolent enterprises of the day, and to exchange feel- 
ings and sentiments and sympathies with the ministers of 
Jesus Christ of different denominations. Oh may this union 
of hearts be more complete, and this system of Christian 
exertion be more extended and more efficient. 

21st. To-day have completed my discourses on the fall 
of man, by considering its effects upon the human family. 
Alas, how sad is the condition, and how dreadful is the cha- 
racter of human nature ! Soul and body under sentence of 
death ; and both destined to an eternity of misery, unless 
rescued in time by the sovereign grace of God ! 

«My God, I feel this dreadful scene. 
My bowels yearn o'er dying men. 
And fain my pity would reclaim 
And snatch the firebrand from the flame. 
But feeble my compassion proves. 
And can but weep, where most it loves.** 

May 22d, To-day I have heard of the sudden death of 
my dear father. I cannot realize it. Only a few weeks 
ago I left him in health, and with the big tear in his eye, 
while I wished him, for the future, to be free from the op- 
pressive weight of worldly cares, and to spend the evening 
13* 



150 



MEMOIR OF THE 



of his life in religious duties and enjoyments. But he is 
gone, and I was not with him to m.ake any suggestion from 
the word of God, that might refresh and strengthen him for 
the last conflict, and to remind him of the precious promises 
of Jesus, suited to a dying hour. But I do believe that he 
loved the Saviour, and conscientiously endeavoured to per- 
form his duties to God and man ; and that his hopes for eter- 
nity have long been fixed on the " Rock of Ages and so 
I am confident that Christ was near him. He might not 
have been aware of his approaching dissolution, but I be- 
lieve he was safe in the hands of a covenant-keeping God, 
and that he is now in glory. The storms of life have often 
beat upon him, but they are over. His aged frame, so often 
wearied by the hardest toil of husbandry, is now at rest. 
He had a treasure in heaven, and is now enjoying it. O may 
God, the widow's God, support, and bless, and sanctify my 
aged mother under this most desolating stroke ; and may 
brothers and sister, and their companions and children, be 
everlastingly benefited by this solemn providence. 

June Sth. I have just returned from visiting my mother. 
I left her very feeble, though, probably, convalescent. The 
shock was almost too much for her feeble frame to bear ; 
but I hope that the God of the widow will sustain her. She 
bears the stroke like a Christian, though her grief is most 
deep, and awful, and heart rending. O God, compose her 
mind by thine own power and grace, and let her find the 
promises of thy word> and the blessedness of thy presence 
able to console and comfort her. When those who have 
walked on so many years, and who have reached the even- 
ing of Hfe together, are suddenly separated, it seems to be 
attended by more than ordinary sorrow. May he who can 
dry the mourner's tear, and who understands the widow's 
woes, be ever with her. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



151 



I left the following inscription for the snnall, neat stone 
that is to mark the spot where my father's ashes repose. 

"In memory of Mr. Joseph Sanford, who ' fell asleep' on 
the 14th of May, 1826, aged 63 years, 10 months, 5 days. 

* The trump shall sound, the dead shall rise, 
From the cold grave the slumb'rers spring-. 
The saints, with joy, shall mount the skies, 
To hail the coming Judge— their King.' " 

June l\th. Preached to-day from the 21st verse of 
Rom. V. Oh that the glorious subject of the reign of grace 
might warm my heart, and may I be one of its certain tro- 
phies. 

P. M. Mr. A¥aterbury, from Hebrews. " How shall we 
escape," &c. We both addressed the people in the evening, 
when the audience appeared to be particularly solemn. Lord 
may there be a great shaking in this valley of dry bones. 

SEAMEN. 

" To give them the gospel is like giving it to the winds of 
heaven, to carry round the world. 

"Ah, they are indeed like the winds of heaven ; and as 
they fly round the world, under God, it depends upon 
you to say, whether they shall resemble a moral pestilence, 
that shall spread contagion and death in its course ; or like 
the breezes of Paradise, to revive, and cheer, and bless the 
nations. 

" The sailor is eminently the son of song; amidst whistling 
winds, and pelting storms, and yawning waves, he pours 
forth his wild notes in defiance of the tempest. But teach 
him the songs of Zion, and while he yokes the winds to his 
car, and rides upon the mountain waves, his notes shall be 
heard and approved, amid the thunders of the ocean, by him 
who directs the storm and makes the clouds his chariot." 



152 



»IEMOIR OF THE ^ 



J une 25tk, To-day had the assistance of a dear brother 
who gave us an interesting discourse on letting our light 
shine. O may God reward him, and make his superior ta- 
lents eminently useful to the church of Christ. Save him 
from his own sinful heart, and from the idolatry and ap- 
plauses of his friends. May all ministers of Jesus keep 
behind the cross ; and while they glory in the cross, may 
they be able to add, " by whom the world is crucified unto 
me and I unto the world." I preached this afternoon, though 
oppressed with severe indisposition, from Gen. v. 24, on the 
history of Enoch; but was too unwell to enter into it and 
enjoy it myself, and of course did not make it very interest- 
ing to others. O God, give me Enoch's faith that embraced 
the distant promise, and enable me to w^alk with God, and to 
obtain some comfortable evidence that God has accepted me 
and will accept my poor, meagre services, on account of 
Christ alone. 

July 2d. Unable to preach — sacramental service post- 
poned — 

"Lord, what a feeble piece 
Is this our mortal frame." 

May I learn to improve health better when I enjoy it. 

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTI03Y. 

" One of the solemn considerations which give so much 
importance to religious instruction is, that it exerts an influ- 
ence for eternity. The influence will be felt while being 
lasts. The principles of truth, which are implanted in the 
mind, can never die, can never be annihilated. The good 
seed will remain. It will be warmed into hfe and useful- 
ness by the Spirit of God, and grow into an immortal tree 
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord." 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



153 



July 9th. Communion service. Morning, preached on 
the jubilee. Sacrament in the afternoon. I felt too feeble 
to enjoy it, and the exercise rather too much for my strength. 

God, prepare me for that service where the worshippers 
shall never grow weary. 

July SOth* History of Noah the subject of one discourse, 
and Heb. xii. 14, the other; the latter in the morning. Oh 
Saviour of sinners, own thine own word and bless it. Felt 
in somewhat of a comfortable frame to-day, but desire more 
light, love, faith and every grace. 

August ISth. This day presented the solemn truth that 
none of us liveth to himself. O God, may I live indeed to 
thee. Much of my time has run to waste. Enable me to 
redeem the time. To improve it more diligently for God 
and for eternity. May the influence of Christians be holy 
and heavenly. 

27th. To-day considered the calling of Abraham. May 

1 really forsake all for God. Believe and obey him, how- 
ever trying the circumstances. 

September Sd. Preached this morning from Ps. Ixxiii. 
14, and this afternoon on the character of Melchisedec. 
This evening spoke on the subject of the 17th Ps. " What 
sinners value, I resign," &c., in connexion with the morning 
subject. O God, revive thy work. 

I7th. To-day have been considering the destruction of 
Sodom. Lord, may all who heard, learn the awful lesson, 
and take warning and not venture, like Lot, to sacrifice spi- 
ritual for temporal advantages ; nor, Hke his wife, dare to 
disobey his commandments ; nor, like the guilty inhabitants 
of Sodom, reject the last message of mercy, and suffer the 
vengeance of eternal fire. 

This evening urged the sentiment, that we are on a steady 
march to the grave. O God, in whom all our hope is to be 
fixed, be pleased to awaken sinners here; and may they 



154 



MEMOIR OF THE 



live like those who expect to die, and who really believe that 
after death comes the day of judgment. 

October \st. To-day preached from Luke, xxiv. 26, last 
clause. Considered two particulars of Christ's exaltation, 
his resurrection and ascension ; and administered the sacra- 
ment in the afternoon, half past three o'clock. Had but 
little comfort, but felt really desirous to serve Christ better 
and to love him more. O Lord, revive thy work ; revive 
my own soul. May Christ be more precious to my own 
soul, so that I may have better evidence of being really a 
disciple, and of growing in grace and holiness. Addressed 
communicants, previously to the celebration of the supper, 
on the importance of inquiring " Lord^ is it /?" 

November 5th, Concluded the subject of the command- 
ed offering of Isaac, as a burnt sacrifice, and preached this 
afternoon from Mai. iv. 2. "But unto you that fear my 
name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise," &c. Improved 
and applied this subject this evening in an exhortation. Some 
may suppose I perform an excess of public duty ; and it is 
indeed a heavy draft on my strength. But I do feel anxious 
for the souls of my congregation. O to feel more so, and 
continually ! To be more faithful, not only in preaching to 
them, but in praying for them. 

December 6th, 1826. The third anniversary of the death 
of my beloved Anna. Another year has she been in the 
presence of Jesus, and like him, in some humble measure. 
I do not wish her back again, though I seem to need her as 
the companion of my pilgrimage. But God, my Father, 
knows best, and he has given his unalterable decision. He 
took her from me when I just began to appreciate her worth, 
and to realize her usefulness as the wife of a minister of 
Jesus. But I am conscious that my heart loved her too 
fondly. It had already begun to lose sight of God. The 
creature was engrossing and absorbing its affections. The 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



155 



Lord saw it, and in dreadful, mysterious mercy to us both, 
called her home to heaven. Father, not my will, but thine 
be done. 

December 7th. The day appointed for public prayer and 
thanksgiving. Have been preaching from Ps. xcvii. 1. 
" The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." 

This doctrine certainly affords a ground of joy to the 
earth and its inhabitants, as all the mercies we receive flow 
to us as specimens of the goodness with which he is supply- 
ing the wants of the subjects of his government. It affords 
refuge for the mind under the ills of life. And even my 
bleeding heart may find a balm of consolation in this inter- 
esting truth. It was a sovereign God who dashed my hopes; 
and on this day, which commemorates the wreck and ruin 
of all that gave life its loveliness, I will bow in silent sub- 
mission at his awful throne. And may I feel what the 
psalmist expresses, and to which my understanding responds: 
" Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his 
throne." 

Sabbath evening, Dec. lOth. To-day have resumed the 
subject, Ps. xcvii. 1. And have applied the expression to 
Jesus Christ in his mediatorial character. Have considered 
the nature and extent of his kingdom. Its subjects ; reve- 
nue ; blessings. Its prime minister, the Ploly Ghost. The 
retinue of the Prince. His laws. The privileges of his 
subjects. And this may justify the joy of earth and its in- 
habitants. 

Evening, in lecture room, spoke of the " chief end of 
man." Follow with thy blessing, O God, the services of 
the day. Bless thine own word, and accomplish thine own 
work, in thine own way and time. 

January, We are already in another year. The 

past is indeed gone for ever. How many of its hours have 
passed without improvement. How many sins committed. 



156 



MEMOIR OF THE 



How many duties neglected or carelessly performed. Lord, 
with the new year, may I begin anew for God. Renewing 
the act by which I have professed to surrender myself to 
God, may I regard soul and body as consecrated to the 
Lord ; as not my own, and not to be used or employed but 
for his glory. 

February 6th. This is the first day of my thirtieth year. 

God, I am a monument of thy rich mercy. Why am I 
not a monument of thy righteous wrath ? I have completed 
twenty-nine years of my mortal pilgrimage. Alas, they 
have been so many years of " wanderings." Oh how far 

1 have strayed from God. O God, I would thank thee for 
any evidence that when my wanderings are ended I shall be 
safely conducted through Jordan and enter the promised 
land — -that land, of which Canaan was such a lively em- 
blem. 

May I, in imitation of my divine master, who entered 
upon his public work, when " he began to be about thirty 
years of age," feel that I have a work to perform, and feel 
straitened till it be accomplished ; and may I enter with such 
holy zeal upon the duties of my sacred office, that it shall 
seem like the beginning of my course. 

"Teach me the measure of my days. 
Thou Maker of my frame," 

go that I may apply my heart unto wisdom. That I may 
work while the day lasts, and prepare for the night that is 
approaching, and the day that is to follow it. *' Great day, 
for which all other days were made." 

March 25th, To-day finished a series of sermons on the 
divine origin and authority of sacred Scriptures, by summing 
up the several subjects of discussion. This evening made 
an appeal (to myself solemn) on the subject of the insensi- 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



157 



bility of sinners ,* their danger and duty requiring them to 
awake and call upon God. 

April nth. The fourth anniversary of my licensure to 
preach the gospel. For four whole years, with very little 
interruptions, I have been engaged in this interesting work; 
with what faithfulness, and with what success, the judgment 
day will disclose ! May the Lord prepare me for that day, 
and cleanse me with the blood of Jesus Christ. 

TO MR. H. D., or BALLSTON, N. Y. 

Brooklyn, July 2d, 1S21 . 
' " Mr. S. gave me reason to expect a call from him this 
morning, previous to his leaving the village, and I take this 
opportunity to send you a line, though I have nothing of 
special interest to communicate, except the goodness and 
mercy of God, which are exercised continually. 

" Our religious assemblies are well attended ; but that is 
all, and is to be connected with the tremendous fact, that 
the word of God is always ' a savour of life unto life, or of 
death unto death.' 

" Our house of worship is so nearly full that unless we 
can take measures for enlarging it, I shall consider my 
sphere of usefulness too narrow to be satisfactory. I saw 
your brother in Philadelphia, at the General Assembly, 
though I had no opportunity of conversing with him. 

" I am expecting to spend a few weeks at the springs, in 
the course of this month, and will try to give you a call. 
My health suffered a little this summer from a slight attack 
of pleurisy in Philadelphia, but my general health, through 
the last winter and spring, has been good. 

" I have heard that Mr. Henry was expected to go to Og- 
densburg, but Mr. S. said, yesterday, he thought not. I 
hope you will not be left again without a pastor. Make my 
best regard to P., and I should add. Christian regards to all 

14 



158 



MEMOIR OF THE 



who inquire. I am informed that many of my acquaintances 
have died. Death is doing his work, and is on his way* 
Oh to Hve continually with our lamps trimmed, and burn- 
ing, and ready to obey the summons of the Son of Man." 

October IQth. The fourth anniversary of my ordination 
and installation as the pastor of this church and congrega- 
tion. Alas, that the visible success of my ministry has been 
so small. The congregation has increased, and are under 
the necessity of providing more extensive accommodations. 
But how little life and spirituality among us, in proportion to 
our duties and hopes ! I am sure my own soul is deplorably 
barren. My spirits flag — heart fails — hands fail. Eternal 
Spirit, improve my animal and moral vigour, and fill my 
soul with the love of God. 

December 6th. Ah, this is also an anniversary, sad in- 
deed to me. And why cannot I hail the return of the day 
which emancipated my life's loved companion from earth 
and sin, and introduced her to the perfection and bliss of 
heaven ? I will enter it as a day of thanksgiving on the 
calendar of time. A wife m glory ! 

TO MR. H. D. OF BALLSTON, N. Y. 

" Brooklyn, Dec, 26tk, 1827. 

" I have been long intending to write you, to say I do 
wish you would come to Brooklyn ; I mean, to live and do 
good, to serve your generation, and to finish your course. 

" This is a place of much importance, and it is rapidly 
increasing ; and there is much for active, intelligent Chris- 
tians to do, and but few to do it. You need not embark in 
business, which will exhaust your time or strength, nor con- 
sume or risk your capital. My object is not to invite you 
into the whirlpool of mercantile speculation, to make a for- 
tune, but inlo the very centre of religious influence in our 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



159 



land, to promote the Master's glory. Every man has influ- 
ence, and every good man should endeavour to make his 
precious time and his influence bear upon the greatest amount 
of human minds. We should try to do good on the largest 
possible scale. I have much to say on this subject, but have 
not time to-day to write it. But I do sincerely wish you 
would come and see, and ask, * Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do V 

" It is months since 1 began to think on this subject, and 
to pray over it. I would not write to you at first, for I was 
afraid to trust my first feelings and impressions. But at 
last I have felt it my duty to write, and leave the event with 
God. 

" I wish you could spend the first Sabbath in January 
with us. It will, by the leave of divine providence, be our 
communion Sabbath ; and there is no friend on earth whose 
presence I think would gratify me more." 

" A gleam of light breaks through the darkness, and re- 
vives the guilty soul of man. Let me stand a monument of 
thy grace on earth, and bring me a trophy of thy victory in 
heaven. When this clog of earth that weighs down my soul 
shall be shook off" in the dust, and my imprisoned spirit dis- 
entangled from its clay, let the wings of love direct my flight 
to the heaven where thou art. 

" Whilst I spend the moments of existence allotted me in 
this world, though distant from earthly friends, may I not be 
distant from thee ; but with thee ever find my joy and hope. 
From the never-failing fountain of divine consolation may all 
my wants be supplied. May I find consolation at all times 
in the word * Jesus,' the dearest, greatest, and sweetest name 
that heaven and earth afford. Join me in mystic union to 
thyself, that I may be separated from the pollutions of the 
world, and follow the Lamb of God whithersoever he may 



160 



MEMOIR OP THE 



lead me. From the tabernacles of thy grace on earth, may 
my soul mount up to the tabernacles of glory in heaven. 
Oh that with tears I might bedew those deadly nail-prints, 
that tell at once my crime and my forgiveness. Lord, help 
me to enter into the ark of safety ; let pardoning love fasten 
the door against an accusing conscience and a condemning 
law; let thy faithfulness and truth be as a brazen wall around 
me, that none of my fears may break through, none of my 
sins destroy me." 

MAN IS A SINNER. 

" Look upon the being God has made in his own image 
and for his own glory. He walks erect, his face is set to- 
wards the heavens ; he is capable of knowing God, he is 
capable of endless progression in knowledge. He can ex- 
plain the laws which bind the world and elements together ; 
he can measure, and number, and name the orbs of heaven. 
He is the lord of this world, and made to be heir to a crown 
and a kingdom on high. Is he not worthy of the Being from 
whose hands he came, worthy of the heaven for which his 
Creator made him ? 

*' But look again. — In all the rounds of life he never thinks 
of God, he never thinks of heaven. Earth, earth is his home 
and portion — mammon, mammon is the idol to which he 
bows ; to gratify the appetites of the body is his aim ; and 
he walks abroad as seemingly unconscious of the immortal 
principle in his bosom as though he was kindred, in every 
part of his nature, to the brutal tribes around him. 

" His heaven-directed visage bends to the earth ; the as- 
pirings of his immortal spirit are checked, degraded, extin- 
guished. Is he not fallen 1 ' Has not the gold become dim V 
Has he not suffered some awful shipwreck in the voyage of 
his being?" 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



161 



THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN ARE TEMPORAL. 

" I may refer you to your own experience, to your obser- 
vation, to your most vivid and painful recollections, for the 
evidence of this. Have you not heard, and seen, and felt, 
that all below is transient. Is there nothing within you that 
responds to this affecting sentiment ? Did you never feel, in 
the midst of all your worldly possessions and prosperity, 
that it was all vanity, all fading and unsubstantial ? Or, if 
so just a conviction was never forced upon your mind in the 
day of prosperity, have you felt it in the day of adversity ? 
Has some worldly loss or disappointment taught you these 
interesting lessons ? When you saw your darling child upon 
a dying bed, tossing in agonies which it was not in the power 
of man to mitigate or relieve, and perhaps crying in vain to 
you for help, did you not then feel the nothingness of earth? 
When you saw the husband or the wife of your bosom torn 
away by the strong and resistless hand of death, and saw 
the grave close upon your mutual hopes, and returned to 
your desolated dwelling, and had time to feel the anguish of 
an aching and bleeding heart, did you not conclude that the 
world was incapable of blessing you ? Have you never seri- 
ously considered how short is the longest probable term of 
your earthly existence, and how much shorter than this your 
life may possibly be ? How certain is the event of your dis- 
solution, and how solemn the consequences of that event ! 
How little the whole world will avail you in your final con- 
flict with the Mng of terrors ! How your soul, with all its 
capacities for suffering or enjoyment, is to outlive all the ob- 
jects upon which it is accustomed to depend for its happiness ! 
You have surely seen the circumstances of those around you 
changed by sickness and misfortunes — you have seen one 
calamity follow another in a most fearful succession. Some- 
times a circle of friends gives life its principal attraction, 
14* 



162 



'memoik of the 



and every blessing of nature and of providence is more than 
doubled in their participation and in their society. But death 
invades this circle of kindred spirits, and its first and loveliest 
members fall beneath his stroke, and break the charm that 
bound the survivors to the world. 

* For who would not follow when friendships deca)'. 
And from life's shining* circle the g-ems drop away; 
When true hearts lie withered and fond ones have flown, 
O who would inhabit this bleak world alone ?' 

Earthly possessions are as uncertain and as transient as 
earthly friendships. You may be in affluence to-day, and 
surrounded by every comfort and luxury that wealth can 
procure or heart desire, but to-morrow a revolution of the 
wheel of providence may bring you down while it exalts 
another. Nay, events may be already in train, without 
your knowledge or agency, which shall reduce you to poverty 
and to want. The imprudence or dishonesty of another, or 
some of the elements of destruction, may entirely sweep 
away your possessions and your hopes. You may boast 
perhaps of an unsullied reputation, but what security have 
you that you shall escape the blasting breath of slander? 
But yours may be a character that can defy the shafts of 
calumny ; and you may occupy, what few attain, the envied 
eminence where superior talents, and tried and acknowledged 
patriotism and philanthropy, and even popular applause, can 
place you, and fame may blow her trumpet, and swell her 
loudest, longest blast ; but alas, how soon she wreathes the 
melancholy cypress for the brow of her favourite sons ! 

" You have seen the beloved and revered chief magistrate 
of this most important section of the Union, from the very 
summit of his greatness, and in the very noon of his useful- 
ness and his fame, cut down by the stroke of death, without 
the warning of a moment ! The statesman of unrivalled 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



163 



talents, the best representation of his country's greatness, the 
pride and boast of his native state, the acknowledged patriot 
and philanthropist, the efficient patron of science and benevo- 
lence, the public benefactor, the high minded and virtuous 
citizen, the exemplary husband and father, has fallen before 
the universal conqueror, and is in the dust ! One week ago, 
who that had not learned a noble ambition from the Bible 
would not have coveted the talents and the fame of Clin- 
ton ? But this bright western star has set. His fame may 
live in the recollections of ages, and will be even identified 
with the glory of his noble state. But what is this to Clin- 
ton now — and what are the splendours of his public career? 
What the success of his projects of internal improvement ? 
What the merited tribute which his political friends and foes 
are eager to pay to his memory ? What a proof of the va- 
nity of earth ! 

" If the fall of such a man, which is an awful public ca- 
lamity, and which clothes a whole community in mourning, 
might be the means of leading men of all classes to improve 
life, his death would produce efTects more valuable than all 
his public services." 

January Isf, 1828. This day we enter on a new year. 
I would begin anew for God, adoring him for the past, and 
trusting him for the future. Oh that I may feel more and 
more deeply that important sentiment which I have endea- 
voured to impress upon the minds of the Sabbath-school 
children this morning, " That the way to be happy is to be 
holy," and that with more zeal for God and more love for 
holiness, I may enter upon the duties of the new year. The 
mercies of God have been still abundantly continued. Oh 
that they may not be lost upon me, so as to leave me only a 
" cumberer of the ground." I have been prevented by in- 
disposition from entering my pulpit one Sabbath only in the 



164 



MEMOIH OF THE 



year, though I have been absent three other Sabbaths on 
business. But of the other forty-eight Sabbaths what have 
been the benefits ? The last great day will disclose. I 
would labour for God more faithfully and prayerfully. My 
church and congregation are both increasing — the attend- 
ance upon the means of grace encouraging ; but why are the 
special influences of the Holy Spirit withheld ? Lord, thou 
knowest. 

February 6th. This day I enter upon my thirty-first 
year. I can scarcely realize that so many years are num- 
bered and gone for ever. They are indeed gone, and yet I 
have a solemn relation to them. They are not gone as the 
clouds that curtained my infant sky, or the flowers that 
strewed my infant path. Oh it is a solemn truth, that upon 
every moment of my existence God has enstamped account- 
ability. May I ever feel it and act under its influence, and 
thus act for eternity. I cannot expect to see thirty years 
more this side of the grave. It is more than probable that 
within that period I shall be in my eternal state of bliss or 
wo ! I would daily review life in reference to the great end 
for which it is given, and inquire to what purpose have I 
lived ] What good have I been the means or the instrument 
of accomplishing 1 How have I glorified God in heart and 
life ? And should I pass suddenly to my last account, what 
could I expect at the hands of the righteous sovereign of the 
world ] My only hope is in Christ Jesus, the friend of sin- 
ners — he is precious to my soul. Oh may he become more 
and more so, and may I serve him more faithfully. 

March 2d. A sudden death of one of the members of 
the church, and one who I believe received her first rehgious 
impressions under my ministry. Her illness was very short 
and distressing, unable to collect her thoughts until about 
two hours before her departure. But during that season, as 
far as the severity of her disease would permit, she express- 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



165 



ed a most gratifying sense of the presence and the precious- 
ness of Jesus, and desired him to hasten the wheels of his 
chariot to come and take her. " She thought she was will- 
ing and ready to die." Endeavoured to improve this solemn 
providence this morning, by considering the exhortation and 
the argument of our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 44 ; " Be ye also 
ready," &c. O God, may this afflictive event be improved by 
us. May the church feel it and awake. May this call from 
eternity be heard and never forgotten. Three weeks ago our 
dear sister joined with us in the songs and services of the 
sanctuary — to-day we trust she worships in the upper temple, 
and mingles her voice in a nobler choir and in sweeter melo- 
dies ! Jesus, Master, come and comfort us with thy pre- 
sence and spirit. 

TO HIS MOTHER. 

''Brooklyn, Feb. 19th, 1828. 

" I have postponed writing to you much longer than I in- 
tended. But I hope you have been satisfied that I have had 
nothing special to communicate, and that my official duties 
have occupied my whole time. Indeed, a clergyman who 
will faithfully perform his duties, can have no time to spare. 
I have usually three services on the Lord's day, two Bible 
classes on Monday, a lecture in the church on Wednesday- 
evening, and a church prayer meeting on Friday evening, 
which I am always to attend. Besides, the sick are to be 
visited, and all the congregation as often as practicable, and 
all the members of the church according to their circum- 
stances and wants. And then every minister, more than 
any other person, requires time to attend to his own soul's 
interests and to the improvement of his mind. Thus you 
see, my dear mother, how my time is disposed of, though I 
have been so long silent. 



166 



MEHOIB OF THE 



" I hope you receive the New York Observ^er regularly, 
and from that you will learn all the religious intelligence of 
the day — and much of it will rejoice your heart. The king- 
dom of our Lord is advancing, and you, my dear mother, by 
your prayers may do much to speed its progress. 

" Mr. H. was in Brooklyn a few weeks ago ; he expects 
to visit Gal way in April, and says he shall by all means try 
to see you. His wife is in a feeble state of health. His son, 
that was insane, is now restored. His eldest daughter has a 
school in this village, and I think will make a profession of 
religion at our next communion." 

April ISth. To-day our earthly temple is closed for the 
purpose of an enlargement ; while my health is such as to 
render it unsafe for me to go out in the storm of snow and 
hail that has been falling all day. Who would have thought 
five years ago that this infant congregation, which was then 
scarcely organized, would so soon require more extensive 
accommodations. God has indeed blessed my ministry far 
beyond what I could have expected. Some I hope have been 
born from above, and have become heirs of glory, through 
my unworthy instrumentality in dispensing the good seed of 
the word. A church of more than three hundred members 
has been collected, besides thirty or forty who have been 
called away by providence and by death. I have reason to 
be amazed and humbled at what God hath wrought, though 
the special influences of the Holy Spirit have been withdrawn. 
May the Lord take care of his flock while they are now to 
be for several weeks dispersed ; may we at length meet in 
our enlarged sanctuary ; and may the windows of heaven be 
opened, and may God pour out blessings so that there shall 
not be room enough to receive them. 



REV* JOSEPH SANFORD. 



167 



THE SAFETY OF GOd's ISRAEL. 

* The Lord will preserve thee from all evil.' There is but 
one idea more awful than the atheistical opinion that there is 
no God, and that is, to have this God for our enemy/ These 
words were addressed to a peculiar people, and this is im* 
portant in the outset to prevent all mistake. The psalmist 
seems to have had a primary reference to the nation that 
went up to Jerusalem to worship. * I will lift up mine eyes 
unto the hills,' &c. The Israelites looked with much delight 
to Mount Zion, where was the house of God, and all the 
visible tokens and symbols of his presence, where he was 
wont to hear their prayers. God saves his people from all 
evil, that is, from every thing which would not work for their 
good ,• from every thing that would destroy them ; from the 
ruinous evil of sin into which they have fallen. 

" 1. He saves them from dangerous, soul-destroying 
errors. Men are in great danger of this. Draw the line 
between truth and error where you will, some errors are 
damning. External advantages and cultivated minds are 
not secure against this. 

" 2. He saves his people from falling under condemna- 
tion. They are justified, but Christ constantly applies his 
blood. 

" 3. He saves his people from apostacy. The righteous 
are < scarcely saved ;' they come very near being lost ; they 
are prone to fall, often tempted, often straying, but he saves 
them. Think of the safety and happiness of such. Think 
of the love of God in Christ Jesus towards sinners. Unhke 
the love of men, it sees nothing lovely in its object. 

" Dismiss your fears then. Christian — doubting, trembling 
Christian. You are safe. All is well. Be grateful for 
such a mercy." 



168 



MEMOIR OF THE 



June I5th. This day entered our house for worship, 
with its enlarged accommodations. Preached all day from 
Ex. XX. 24. " In all places where I record my name I will 
come unto thee and bless thee." Considered the presence 
and the blessing promised. O God, grant them both in 
mercy, and take possession of our sacred edifice. 

« Enter with all thy glorious train, 
Thy Spu-it and thy word: 
All that the ark did once contain. 
Could no such grace afford." 

The congregation appears to have enlarged with the build- 
ing. Open our eyes to behold wondrous things out of thy 
law. Open our hearts to receive thy grace ; and open our 
lips to speak forth thy praise. 

TO HIS MOTHER. 

" Brooklyn, August Ith, 1828. 

« I have just received a letter from Mrs. Howe, informing 
me you are in Brutus. I hope you received the letter I wrote 
by Mr. K. I should have visited you in July, if you had 
staid in Galway ; but the opportunity of going with Mr. K. 
was too good to neglect. I am glad you embraced it. Mrs. 
H. did not mention how you endured the journey ; but I 
concluded it did not injure you, or she would have mentioned 
it. It is true, my dear mother, I would feel better satisfied 
could you feel contented to live in Galway, because I could 
see you oftener, and you could have greater religious privi- 
leges. But if you prefer, on the whole, to live in C. you 
have my entire approbation. I wish you, by all means, to 
do that which will make you most comfortable. 

" If I can leave Brooklyn this fall, I will try to go out to 
C. to see you, in the course of September or October. But 



/ 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 169 

it is extremely difficult for me to be absent from my congre- 
gation long enough for such a journey. I am anxious to 
see brother E., to know what are his prospects, &c. My 
health, this summer, has been better than usual; and my la- 
bours are such as to require all my time and strength. Men- 
tion my respects to all friends. It is doubtful whether I shall 
be able to stop in B., should I go to the west. It would re- 
quire one whole day ; and my time is precious, and not my 
own. May the blessing of the Lord descend upon you, and 
his presence cheer and fill your desolated heart." 

August 24. Detained from the house of God to-day by 
indisposition.' Taken ill last evening, and too much enfee- 
bled to-day even to attend the preaching which, by the kind 
providence of God, my congregation are favoured with. 
" Lord, what a feeble piece," &c. A few hours' sickness 
prostrates this frail tabernacle, and bends it towards its na- 
tive dust. O to live with an assured confidence of a build- 
ing of God, ready to receive me when this earthly house is 
dissolved ; and to work in the vineyard of the Lord every 
day, as though I expected to be laid aside to-morrow. 



In the month of September, of this year, Mr. Sanford re- 
ceived a call from the Second Presbyterian Church, in the 
city of Philadelphia, to become their pastor. This call was 
given with almost entire unanimity. This large and impor- 
tant church had become vacant by the resignation of the 
Rev. Dr. Jane way, who had been appointed Professor of 
Theology in the Western Theological Seminary, which 
was then about to be opened, at Alleghenytown, near Pitts- 
burg. That a call from such a church — one of the most 
respectable in the United States — which embraced a large 
number of men of distinguished usefulness, and which had 
been blessed with a succession of able pastors — should be 
15 



I* 



170 



MEMOIR OF THE 



considered with great attention by Mr. San ford, is what all 
would be ready to pronounce an obvious and imperative duty. 

This call was long and prayerfully considered by Mr. 
Sanford. The advice of the best and most judicious friends 
was sought. He consulted such men as the Rev. Drs. Green, 
Miller, Alexander and M'Auley. From them he obtained 
most appropriate counsel. All of these excellent fathers and 
brethren in the church expressed to him the great happiness 
which it would give them to see him settled in that church, 
if he should find it to be his duty to accept the call. 

On the other hand, his large and beloved church in Brook- 
lyn, was greatly opposed to his leaving them. And what 
served to increase the perplexity of his situation* was a thirdy 
unanimous call from the American Presbyterian Church 
in Montreal. The unanimity of this call, after two pre- 
vious failures, the interesting state of that church and con- 
gregation, and the prospect of great usefulness, not only 
in that important city, but also in the entire province, were 
reasons for serious and just consideration of this important 
call. Indeed it would not be possible for any one to read 
the letters which Mr. Sanford received, on this subject, from 
Messrs. De Witt, Dickinson, and Bigelow, on the part of the 
church in Montreal, without being struck both with the im- 
portance of that post and of the high and long-cherished opi- 
nion which that people entertained of Mr. Sanford's eminent 
qualifications for that place. It does not comport with the 
object of this small work to give that correspondence, but it 
may not be improper to insert, here, two letters which Mr. 
Sanford received, in relation to this call. The first is from 
the Rev. Mr. Hoyt ; and the second is from the Rev. Dr. 
Nott, President of Union College. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



171 



" Montreal, Jan, IQth, 1829. 

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, 

" Though a stranger, yet you will permit me to address 
you on a subject in which my own feelings are deeply inter- 
ested. I refer to your anticipated removal to this city. I 
have been supplying the American Presbyterian Church, in 
this place, for a few weeks past ; and I have had a fair op- 
portunity of observing, on the spot, what, I have no doubt, 
are facts relative to the importance of this post. And, for 
what I have here witnessed, and for the knowledge I had 
previously acquired, I have no hesitation in expressing my 
firm belief that Montreal presents one of the most prominent 
and inviting fields of evangelical labour in North America. 
I cannot conceive how, by any impartial and enlightened 
mind, it can be viewed otherwise. Were this city only to 
be taken into account such would be the fact. But it is not. 
This whole district of country is materially affected, and 
will be thus affected, by the moral atmosphere inhaled in 
Montreal. The light of eternity only can disclose the amount 
of good which, under God, an able, judicious, humble, de- 
voted minister of the gospel may here effect. 

" I am persuaded that brother Christmas will always re- 
joice in view of his connexion with this people and region. 
But I have no doubt that Mr. Bigelow has presented before 
you, fairly and fully, the imperious claims of this part of the 
heritage of Zion. 

" What I want to say, brother, is that you are the man 
for Montreal. Yes, the very man to come and labour in 
this vast field, already ripe for the harvest. 

" I know that you have the esteem, and confidence, and 
affection, to as great an extent as any man should have, of 
those who have invited you to come. Their eyes are fixed 
upon you with intense anxiety. If they are disappointed 
the shock will be no ordinary one. It will be very difficult 



172 



MEMOIR OF THE 



for them to be fully united in any other man. And there is 
a fair prospect of the society being at once, and to a consi- 
derable extent, enlarged, should you come. 

" I have no interest in this subject, onb/ what regards the 
general prosperity of the church. I leave here to-morrow 
morning. A's I have an opportunity of sending directly to 
New York, I have been constrained to drop you a line on 
this subject. I pray that the Great Head of the church will 
be with you, and guide you to such a result as shall be most 
for his glory and your eternal well being. In haste, 
" Yours affectionately, 

" Otto S. Hoyt." 

" DEAH SIR, 

" Nothing but a sense of duty could induce me to address 
you on a subject that seems, by a decision you have already 
made, to have been put at rest. But circumstances have 
come to my knowledge, that lead me to apprehend that the 
contemplated church in Montreal will either expire or go 
into the hands of dangerous errorists, unless measures are 
taken to prevent this. That those measures involve your 
removal to that place ; and that there has been a change of 
circumstances and a development of facts, since you were 
there, that not only justify, but call for your solemn and de- 
liberate review of the whole case. And to induce you to do 
this is the sole object of this letter. The facts and circum- 
stances alluded to, will be presented from another source. I 
am aware that you are pleasantly settled, and that an ad- 
dress of this sort may appear like an intrusion on your peace, 
and on the peace of your society. I respect both ; but nei- 
ther are to be put in competition with the great and extensive 
interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. God, in his provi- 
dence, has opened a door for the Presbyterian Church to 
make a lodgement in that land, not only of want but of de- 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 173 

lusion. If that lodgement is made, other posts may soon be 
taken possession of. A Presbytery may soon be formed 
there — from this, other Presbyteries may arise — so that, in 
a single generation, the Bible Society, the Missionary Socie- 
ty, and the Sunday School Society, together with all our 
other moral machinery, may be extended over a country, 
which will not only be redeemed itself, but, in the end, react 
and pour its contributions into that treasury consecrated to 
the conversion of the world. To my mind, the object has 
an importance that would justify the taking of any pastor 
from any church in the United States, that might be deemed 
peculiarly fitted therefor. And the continued attachment of 
the congregation there — their continuing to hope against hope, 
seems to be an indication of Providence, with respect to the 
individual so fitted. If the friends of vital piety will not take 
possession of this field, the enemies will ; and agents of error 
and of evil will occupy the region, which, we might have oc- 
cupied ; and generations pass away before another oppor- 
tunity, equally favourable, will offer for adding this province 
to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. I am aware that you will 
be pressed by friends, whom it will be painful to deny, to de- 
cline the reconsideration of this subject. But you will call 
to mind that you are not the master of your own labours ; 
and that the question is one that respects the present and the 
future interests of the Saviour's kingdom. It is a question, 
to be sure, on which, when the whole circumstances are be- 
fore you, you must judge ; and must not, and ought not, to 
be governed by the opinion of others. All that I wish to 
do, is, to bespeak your prayerful and solemn reconsideration 
of the whole case — the present situation, the future pros- 
pects of Canada — and see whether the prospect of useful- 
ness and range of action, there ^ be not far, and decidedly 
greater than that of the place you at present occupy. See, 
also, whether the evil of refusal be not likely to be far greater 
15* 



174 



MEMOIR OF THE 



in extent, and lasting in duration, to that province, than any 
probable evil that can befall your present charge in conse- 
quence of your resignation thereof. 

" It may be that I am in error — that the time has not 
come to plant the gospel in that land, so long overshadowed 
with darkness. Be this as it may, a door is opened to make 
the attempt. Success would be glorious ; and it would be 
glorious too, even to fail in such an undertaking. I will not 
add more ; perhaps I have already said too much. I do not 
wish to prejudge your judgment ; but merely to urge you 
to reconsider and review the whole case, and decide accord- 
ing to the light which God, in his providence, may afford 
you. 

" Wishing you the guidance of his Spirit, I am, in very 
great haste, and with esteem, 

" Your's sincerely, 

" Eliph. Nott." 

Notwithstanding the powerful appeal which was made in 
behalf of Montreal, Mr. Sanford, after long, and anxious, 
and prayerful deliberation, decided in favour of Philadelphia. 
At first his Presbytery were opposed to his removal ; but, 
upon consideration of the subject, they yielded to what he 
believed to be the call of duty, and of the Great Head of 
the Church. 

The following extracts from his journal and letters will 
show with what spirit he considered this call, and finally 
went to his new field of labour, where much usefulness and 
many trials awaited him; and where, in less than three years, 
he ended his days on earth. 

October 1st, This day received notice of a call from the 
Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, to become 
their pastor. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFOKD. 



175 



May the Lord give me wisdom to discern, and grace to 
perform, my duty. May I be enabled to decide this impor- 
tant question in the light of eternity. Lord, what wouldst 
thou have me to do ? Lord, direct my paths and make my 
duty plain. 

October IQth, This day completes five years of my 
ministry. Preached this afternoon from Eph. iii. 8, and en- 
deavoured to call the attention of my congregation to the 
inquiry, What have been the results of my ministry with 
them, as individuals ; and whether, if they should be called 
to-night, to their final account, they would bless or curse 
God, through eternity, for the message of his mercy ! 

Oh God, the future is all unknown to me. " Guide me, 
oh thou great Jehovah." Enable me to take such views of 
the subject that now occupies my mind, that I may judge 
impartially, and in the fear of God, and in fear of nothing 
else. I would acknowledge thee in all my ways ; wilt thou 
direct my paths. I would not confer with flesh and blood. 
I desire to know what the will of the Lord is, and what the 
interests of Zion require. 

November 2d. Preached this morning from Heb. iv. 1, 
and called my congregation to consider the fact, " that a 
promise of entering into rest is actually made to us that 
many fall short of it. Christ has taught it, and our own 
observation justifies his teaching on this subject. Urged the 
apostle's exhortation upon all. This afternoon spoke with 
tolerable freedom and comfort, from Ps. xxxiv. 15 : " The 
eyes of the Lord," &c. Oh that I may desire, more than 
all things else, to secure God's approbation ; and that I may 
act as in his presence, and avail myself of the blessed pri- 
vilege of spreading out all my wants before him whose ear 
is ever open. Truly I need this at this time especially. How 
shall I dispose of this call from Philadelphia 1 " Lord, what 
wouldst thou have me to do 1" 



176 



3IEM0IR OF THE 



On the 6th of November, of this year, Mr. Sanford was 
united in marriage with Miss Margaret H. Boardman, of Al- 
bany ; a young lady of devoted piety, and of whom he justly 
speaks, in his journal, as " a friend, congenial, sympathiz- 
ing and suitable to be the companion of a minister of Jesus 
Christ." After their marriage they visited Rochester and 
several other places in that part of the state of New York, 
and returned to Brooklyn towards the end of the month. 

December Ath. Reached Brooklyn, after many delays, 
fatigues and perils. This is the day of public prayer and 
thanks orivincr. O who has greater cause for thankfulness 
than I? 

December 25th, To-day Presbytery met to consider the 
call from Philadelphia. Though the thought of separation 
from my dear congregation is painful, I do feel that God 
calls me to make the sacrifice. I gave this answer. The 
business postponed until to-morrow. 

26th. The commissioners have been heard. My brethren 
all think I ought not to remove. I am sure they have not 
examined the subject as I have done. They decide as I ex- 
pected. They adjourn till Tuesday next, to give me time to 
consider their advice. O may the Lord guide me under 
these accumulating responsibilities. May he give me wis- 
dom from above. Lord, I would commit my way unto thee. 
Do thou direct my path. 

Tuesday morning, Dec. SOth. To-day the question must 
be finatly settled, and I do feel that I must follow my own 
convictions of duty, though against the opinion and advice 
of my dear brethren. Oh God, in thy sight, I wish to act 
for eternity. Let me have the presence of thy Holy Spirit 
to-day. Suffer me not to mistake my duty. I would com- 
'mit my way to thee. O my God, direct my paths. May I 
not misinterpret thy providence and mistake thy will. Nor 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



177 



make a decision which I shall hereafter regret. Thou art 
the King of Zion : rule then in every heart, and in mine to- 
day. May I perceive and perform my duty, and leave con- 
sequences in thy hands. 

January ^th, 1829. To-day administered the Lord's 
supper to this dear church, which I am. so soon to leave. 
The day very cold, snowy and unfavourable — but few of the 
church attended. The season, however, was solemn. May 
it be profitable. Never can I expect to meet this whole 
church, to which I have so often dispensed the word and sa- 
craments, till we meet in judgment. O may we meet to 
bless God for the relation which we have sustained. 

January Wth. To-day have taken leave of my congre- 
gation. Preached this morning from Ps. Ixxxvii. 3. " Glo- 
rious things are spoken of thee, O city of God." Spoke of 
the extension, prosperity, perpetuity and coming glory of the 
church of God. May we all become citizens of Zion, and 
meet in heaven. Preached this afternoon from the words of 
Paul, in his farewell address to the Corinthians, 2 Cor. xiii. 
11. "Finally, brethren," &c. Had difficulty in command- 
ing my feelings so far as to be capable of utterance ; but the 
Lord assisted me. Oh may these familiar exhortations be 
improved to the good of many souls. Into thy hands, my 
dear Lord and Master, I have resigned my charge of this 
people. Many, many imperfections have marred my ser- 
vices ; and yet, I hope I have laboured in sincerity and truth. 
I have my unfaithfulness to deplore in thy sight ; but I trust 
I am clear of their blood. O bless this people. Send them 
a pastor whose ministrations thou wilt own and bless ; and 
build up this people, and dwell among them continually. 
And do thou take me under thy gracious care and guidance. 
I have desired to act for the love of Jesus, the good of souls, 
the prosperity of Zion, and the glory of Zion's King. May 
I now renew my covenant engagements to be thine ; and do 



178 



MEMOIR OF THE 



thou employ me in the place and under the circumstances 
where I can do most for the kingdom of Jesus, and ripen 
most rapidly for the services and the society of the church 
triumphant. May I have clearer evidences of my love to 
God and his love to me. May all my graces be in progress 
and in exercise, and the work of sanctification be evidently 
advancing. Prepare me for all that awaits me, of joy or 
sorrow, prosperity or adversity, sickness or health. And 
may I run with patience the race set before me, with my 
faith and hope fixed on Jesus. 

The following extracts are given from the excellent vale- 
dictory discourse which Mr. Sanford delivered to his dear 
people on this affecting occasion. It is replete with the best 
advice, and is worthy of a careful perusal by all. 

" My dear hearers : This day my official labours among 
you are to close. Afler a deliberate, and prayerful, and 
certainly painful attention to all the recent indications of the 
providence of God, I have judged that the Head of the church 
requires my removal to another part of his vineyard. 

*' For upwards of five years I have been with you at all 
seasons, in sickness, in health, in joy, and in sorrow ; in 
prosperity and in adversity. I have wished to be instant in 
season and out of season, to declare the whole counsel of 
God according to my best judgment of your capacities and 
wants ; to keep back nothing that would be profitable to you, 
for fear of losing your confidence, or wounding your feelings ; 
to teach you publicly, and, as far as practicable, from house 
to house; and to present to you, in a manner that should 
not offend the most cultivated mind, while it aimed to become 
intelligible to the humblest capacity, all the fulness of the 
blessing of the gospel of peace. And I wish to take you all 
to record this day, that while I am conscious of great weak- 



KEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



179 



ness and imperfection in the performance of my duties, I feel 
pure from the blood of your souls. 

" Perhaps I owe it to you, as well as to myself, to state 
publicly to all, what I have often said privately to many, 
that it would have been unspeakably gratifying to my feel- 
ings, and would have been most accordant with my sincere 
and ardent attachment to this church and congregation, and 
with my deliberate preference of this place to any with 
which I am acquainted, and with my personal and profes- 
sional comfort, to have finished my ministerial course in the 
place where I commenced it. It would have been most 
grateful to every affection of my heart, to have led this dear 
flock in the way of holiness and heaven ; to have been the 
honoured instrument of training them for glory; to have at- 
tended those who might be called home before me, on the 
bed of death, and to the verge of heaven ; to have slept the 
sleep of ages among their sepulchres ; to have risen with 
them when the judgment trumpet shall wake the dead; and to 
have entered with them into the joys of our common Lord ! 
But such a course, though it would be agreeable to the wishes 
you have so unanimously expressed ; agreeably to the opi- 
nions and advice of many of my most valued brethren and 
friends; and most compatible, as all have acknowledged, 
with my personal ease and enjoyment ; most gratifying to 
those feelings of exalted Christian friendship, which several 
years of pastoral intercourse are so well calculated to form, 
and fix, and strengthen, and refine — my own solemn con- 
victions of duty have not permitted me to pursue. I yield, 
therefore, and make the sacrifice which involves my feelings 
as well as your feelings and wishes, not, I trust, your friend- 
ship ; and I should be unworthy of your confidence as a 
minister of Jesus Christ, if I could refuse to make it. 

" But the sacrifice is made, I humbly hope and trust, for the 
love of Jesus, for the good of souls, for the prosperity of 



180 



MEMOIR OF THE 



Zion, and for the glory of Zion's King. It is in the belief 
that such high considerations as these have turned the scale, 
and ought to turn it, that by the blessing of God I may hope 
to be more extensively useful to the church of Christ, that I 
have regarded the divine will as indicated by the providence 
of God, and that will, as far as we can satisfactorily ascer- 
tain it, ought to outweigh a world that would oppose it. 

^' My brethren have permitted me to follow my own views 
of duty, and this day concludes my ministerial services. 

" And now, before we separate, could I present the sub- 
stance of all the truth which has been here delivered in the 
course of my ministry — all the array of motives and argu- 
ments by which I have endeavoured to show you your condi- 
tion and your duty, and to lead you to Jesus and to glory, in 
a few sentences that should be lucid with the light of eternity, 
and impressive as the voice and authority of God, and that 
should fasten conviction upon your hearts, and make you 
wise unto salvation, how gladly would I do it ! But it can- 
not be, and 1 have only to ask your attention to a few familiar 
words of affectionate exhortation, such as the Apostle Paul 
addressed to the church of Corinth, when he closed his last 
epistle to them : * Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one 
mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be 
with you.' 

" 1. One of the first objects of the gospel ministry is the 
perfection of the saints. The word signifies to compact^ 
settle, mature, and complete. Thus it is used by the apostle : 
* And he gave some apostles, and prophets, and evangelists, 
and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the 
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the 
body of Christ.' Eph. iv. 11, 12. And again in the epistle 
to the Hebrews, xiii. 20, 21 : ' Now the God of peace, 
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, 
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,' 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 181 

&c» Many of you have only entered upon your Christian 
course, and are only babes and children in the knowledge of 
God, and the duties of religion. * I have fed you with milk, 
and not with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear it ; 
neither yet now are ye able.' You are attending to the very 
alphabet of the language of Canaan ; to the rudiments of the 
science of salvation. And this exhortation is that you should 
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of God. The know- 
ledge of God is the foundation of ail the graces, and is to be 
attained by an attentive examination of the sacred Scriptures, 
and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Make yourselves well 
acquainted with the evidences of the divine authority and 
origin of the Bible, and then study its contents, and become 
familiar with its precepts, its promises, its history, its biogra- 
phy. Strive to learn well the first principles of the doctrines 
of grace, and then to pass on to the more deep, and difficult, 
and sublime communications of the will of God. The simple 
milk of the word is suited to the condition and wants of the 
infant believer ; but the inspired volume contains aliment for 
the disciple of greatest age, and largest attainments in the 
school of Jesus Christ. The wayfaring man, though com- 
paratively a fool, may here learn his duty ; and the man of 
the loftiest intellect may find room enough for the exercise 
of his most cultivated powers. God's truth is the appointed 
means of your spiritual progress and prosperity, and it is to 
furnish you with your principles, and rules, and motives of 
action. The more you study the word of God, under the 
influence of the Spirit that inspired it, the more you will see 
of your guilt and misery by nature and by practice ; the 
more you will see of the loveliness and the richness of the 
grace of the gospel ; the more you will learn of the charac- 
ter of God, as it is most completely and gloriously manifested 
in the cross of Jesus ; the more you will crucify the flesh 
with its affections and lusts ; the more you will glorify God 

16 



192 



MEMOIR OF THE 



by your lives and conversation ; the more rapidly will you 
make your preparation for the perfect and perpetual society 
and services of the upper world. 

" And it may well be remembered, as a consideration that 
should at once humble and animate you, that aller all your 
efforts and advantages, it is but a little you ever learn of God 
below. Though the dispensation of shadows has expired ; 
though all its glory has passed away, like the mists of the 
morning before the brightness of noon, yet even now, under 
the gospel dispensation, you see but ' through a glass darkly,^ 
and under the most favourable circumstances, with your field 
of observation widened, and your vision strengthened by 
God's completed Revelation, you will * know but in part,'' 
But the brightest light you here enjoy, is only the twilight 
of what you may anticipate. ' When that which is in part 
shall be done away, and that which is perfect is come 
when your faculties are completely emancipated from the in- 
fluence and the imperfections of sin, and you come to take 
your places among the disciples of a higher school, the perfec- 
tions of Jehovah's character, and the operations of his hand, 
shall spread out their ample pages, and invite your inves- 
tigation ; and there shall be heights, and depths, and lengths, 
and breadths of his wisdom, and goodness, and righteous- 
ness, and grace, and glory, that shall exercise, and elevate, 
and delisht vour immortal and untiring energies through 
everlasting ages. 

" But the apostle's exhortation includes progress and per- 
fection in grace, as well as knowledge. The child of G^od 
is compared to a tree of the Lord's planting, standing by 
rivers of water, whose leaf never withers, whose fruit never 
fails. The Holy Spirit dwells in his heart, and the fruits of 
the Spirit are manifest in his life. These are ' love, jov, 
peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 
temperance.' Gal. v. 22, 23. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



183 



" Every disciple of Christ is required to * abound in fruits 
of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the praise 
and glory of God.' Christ is the author and finisher of his 
faith, and faith may be regarded as the parent of the graces. 
The existence of these fruits of the Spirit will be an unequi- 
vocal evidence of the soundness of your religion, and the 
safety of your condition. By these you will glorify God, 
and by their growth and prosperity you will evince your 
progress towards the perfection of your Christian character, 
and your preparation for the world of glory. 

" Your progress in knowledge and grace will incline you 
to persevere in every good word and work, which is the 
other branch of your Christian perfection. This was the 
apostle's prayer for the Hebrews, that they might be perfect 
in every good work to do the will of God. Heb. xiii. 21, 
You will be anxious to learn how you can most successfully 
and efficiently glorify God ; you will make the cause of God 
your own, and think nothing too good or too dear to sacri- 
fice in promoting it ; you will regard yourselves as servants, 
and strive to do the work of your Master — as soldiers, and 
feel that earth is a field of battle, and that heaven is the home 
of your repose ; and however humble your circumstances or 
obscure your condition, while you can cast a mite into God's 
treasury, or ofier a prayer at his mercy seat, you will not 
cease to strive for the coming of his kingdom, and the com- 
plete establishment of the empire of truth and righteousness 
throughout the world. 

" When the members of the church, in their individual 
capacities, comply with the apostle's exhortation, then will 
the church itself, in its organized capacity, as a branch of 
the family of God, (1 Pet. v. 10.) be compacted, and settled, 
and established, and thus matured and perfected in the faith 
and obedience of the gospel. 

" 2. But the Corinthians were exhorted to ^ he of good 
comfort,^ 



184 



MEMOIH OF THE 



" I should do great injustice to the very numerous and 
gratifying expressions of affection, I have so long and so 
lately heard, were I to doubt that many souls are sorrowful 
in the prospect of our separation. I have anticipated, my 
hearers, and I have felt the anguish it is to cost ; I have 
already told you that my feelings and strong affections all 
inclined me to ' pray to he excused,^ when I began to be- 
lieve the Lord was calling me away. I have prayed over 
this subject, and have wept over it, and have tried to examine 
it in the light of eternity, in the fear of God. and in no other 
fear. And I trust I am not mistaken, when I say, the love 
of Christ constrains me. That love, my Christian friends, 
is the principle of the exhortation I would now address you. 
Comfort y'ourselves in God your Saviour. He abides with 
his church for ever, by the person and influence of the Holy 
Spirit. He manifests his presence and dispenses his grace 
in the ordinances of his house and service. Your souls are 
the witnesses of his love and mercy. Let your faith renew 
its hold on the cross of Jesus. Live at the mercy seat of 
God. Believe and obey the responses of the sacred oracle, 
and the light of God's countenance shall shine upon you, and 
the spirit of consolation shall make your hearts his perpetual 
abode. 

"3. ^ Be of one mind,'' or mind the same thing. Let the 
glory of God and the good of Zion be the object of your 
common anxieties and efforts. This you will all profess, 
and I hope all will strive to pursue it. A good degree of 
unity has hitherto prevailed. Strive to keep the unity of the 
spirit in the bond of peace, and this will be easily done if you 
have in view your common interest and prosperity. 

" I wish to urge this duty in relation to the choice of your 
future pastor, which I most earnestly hope may^ be made as 
speedily as possible. If the church needs a man of peculiar 
qualifications, and such a man can be found, let that be the 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



185 



man of your choice, though your own taste may not be ex- 
actly gratified. Say not in the spirit of unaccommodating 
partiahty, I am for Paul, and I for Apollos, and I for Peter, 
but he all for Christ, and unite in such measures as pro- 
mise most for his glory, and the prosperity of the church. 

" 4. ' Live in peace.'' This will be the determination of 
all who really love our Lord and Saviour. There may be, 
and there always will be, some diversity of opinion in this 
world of ignorance and error. But still you may live in un- 
interrupted harmony. Having the same grand objects in 
view, though you may differ in opinion as to the best methods 
of attaining them, yet there will be no unfriendly interference 
or opposition that will interrupt each other's peace, or retard 
each other's progress, or check the growth of the church and 
congregation. 

" When the professed friends of Jesus Christ evince a 
htigious and contentious spirit^ the very reverse of that for- 
bearance and forgiveness which the gospel teaches, they do 
an injury to the cause of religion which they never can re- 
pair ,* and bring a stain upon it, which all their tears of re- 
pentance can never wash away. Labour then, my dear 
hearers, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall 
prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and pros- 
perity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' 
sakes, I will now say, peace be within thee. Psalm cxxii. 6, 8. 

" 5. When the preceding directions are complied with, you 
may take the encouragement which the promise or the pro- 
phetic declaration of the text is so well calculated to afford, 
' And the God of love and peace shall he with you.'' This 
will secure your happiness and best prosperity. ' God is 
love,' and it is the amazing revelation of himself as such, to 
a world of sinners, that constitutes the glory of the gospel ; 
and it is his love that caused the proclamation of peace to be 
made among a race of rebels, when the prince of peace be- 
16* 



186 



MEMOIR OF THE 



came incarnate for their salvation. It is his love that carries 
forward the plan of mercy in our world, by which peace is 
produced between man and his Maker, as well as man and 
his fellow man. It is the love of God that subdues the sin- 
ner to the obedience of the gospel, and teaches him to love 
God with all his heart, and his neighbour as himself, and 
thus through Christ to fulfil the law of God. And it is love 
that has promised the blessed comforter to continue with the 
church for ever. 

" It is the presence of the God of love and peace that you 
now especially need, and which I would urge you most earn- 
estly to supplicate. 

" I fondly hope and believe that the Head of the church 
has rich blessings in store for you. 

" For several years the incorruptible seed has been sown 
among you, and it is according to God's frequent mode of 
operation to appoint another to come and reap of the harvest. 

" Whoever is the favoured instrument, by whose agency 
the harvest of souls is to be gathered in, no one will rejoice 
more sincerely, my hearers, than your late pastor. If you 
can enjoy a ' time of refreshing from the presence of the 
Lord,' such as God gives in answer to the prayers of his 
people, and such as he is now affording to many of the 
churches, you will see the grace and the glory of the gospel, 
as you have never seen them before, and regard it as a new 
and most glorious era in the history of this congregation. 

" If the God of love and peace will come and dwell among 
you, he will guide you through all the wanderings of the 
wilderness, and feed you with the heavenly manna, and 
refresh you from the river of life, and conduct you on- 
ward from grace to grace, till grace shall be exchanged for 
glory. 

" I am unwilling to close this discourse, without a few 
suggestions to several classes of persons in this assembly. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



187 



" My affections and anxieties are first directed to the mem- 
hers of this communion. My dear Christian brethren and 
sisters, you are aware of your high character and profession, 
and of the duties incumbent on those who name the name of 
Jesus. You are here the hving representatives of the church 
of God. The world will form its opinion of religion from 
your lives and conversation. Tf you strive to exemplify all 
its power and loveliness at all times, and under all circum- 
stances, God will be glorified, and his truth be honoured. 
You are living epistles, to be known and read of all men, 
and let me exhort you to beware of misrepresenting the gos- 
pel of God our Saviour. Let it be evident from the whole 
course of your lives, that you verily believe the truth you 
profess respecting the sinner's danger, and never allow your 
friends who are out of Christ, to find in your calmness and 
apathy and unconcern respecting their salvation, an excuse 
for their impenitence, and an argument for disbelieving the 
messengers and the word of Jesus Christ, which warn them 
of the impending wrath of heaven, and beseech them, with- 
out delay, to become reconciled to God. Strive to be blame- 
less and harmless, and to prove yourselves the sons of God, 
without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse na- 
tion, among whom ye shine as lights in the world ,• holding 
forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, 
that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Phil. ii. 
12, 16. 

" To the young communicants, I may say with the apostle, 
' Ye are my joy and crown.' You have but entered on your 
Christian course, and have yet to learn that the path is often 
rough and thorny. I would most affectionately exhort you 
to settle it as a principle of action, that you must enjoy some 
tender sense of the presence of Jesus every day, and pro- 
gress in the knowledge of God, and in the grace of the 
gospel. 



183 



3IEX0IR OF THE 



" ' I have no greater joy than to hear that my children 
walk in the truth.' ' Only let your conversation be, as it 
becometh the gospel of Christ ; that whether I come and 
see you, or be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye 
stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for 
the faith of the gospel.' ' Be thou faithful unto death, and 
the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will give thee a crown of 
Hfe.' 

" To sinners in this assembly, who have hitherto refused 
the calls and offers of the gospel, what shall I say ? How 
can I say farewell ? "V\'hen I bid adieu to those who love 
the Saviour, I hope to meet them at his right hand, in the 
day of judgment, if not before. But when I take my leave 
of you, I tremble. Oh my friends, you know how gladly I 
would have led you to the Saviour. I have honestly be- 
lieved the truth I have so often addressed to you, that you 
are all lost by nature, and the children of wrath — actually 
under condemnation ; that Jesus Christ has come into the 
world to save sinners ; that if you wiW believe in him, and 
accept of him, he will save you ; but that if you refuse and 
reject him, he will cast you off for ever ! 

" jVIust I appear as a swift witness against you, when we 
meet you at the bar of God ? Must a ministry of five years, 
which many have improved to their everlasting joy, be only 
cast into the scale of your condemnation ? Must the doc- 
trine of Christ crucified, which will swell on the air of hea- 
ven in the loftiest, sweetest songs of the saints redeemed, be 
heard mingled with the eternal wailings of your damnation ? 
And now I exhort you to believe and obey the gospel. Be- 
hold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the day of 
salvation. 

" To those who conduct the music of this congregation, 
and who perform a service so important and acceptable in 
the worship of God, I will mention not only the pleasure I 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



189 



have felt, to observe your zeal and success in this delightful 
exercise, but the pain it has occasioned to see the choir di- 
vided and broken up, when the table of the Lord is spread, 
and so many of you stand at a distance, when the friends of 
Jesus approach to commemorate his dying love. Will any 
of you be satisfied to sing the songs of Zion here, and to 
have no part in the anthems of eternity ? Shall those pow- 
ers God has given, and which are so practised and employed 
in the melodies of earth, be lost and unattuned to the melo- 
dies of heaven ? Will you aid and edify the worshippers of 
Jesus here in the sanctuary, when they are preparing for 
their future joys, and then be shut out at last when the 
Church of the First Born shall assemble, and the everlasting 
song shall begin 1 May God forbid it, and by his grace pre- 
vent it. May you all feel the love of Jesus inspiring your 
notes of praise, and enabling you to sing with the spirit and 
with the understanding, making melody in your hearts as 
well as with your voices, unto the Lord; and then may you 
hope to see his face, and to sing around his throne ; ' To 
reach that blissful station, and to give him nobler praise.' 

" I desire on this occasion, to return thanks for the uni- 
form courtesy and kindness with which I have been received 
among you. For the punctuality and the liberality with 
which you have fulfilled your engagement for my worldly 
maintenance. For the readiness and tenderness with which 
you have rejoiced with me in my joys, and mourned with 
me in my sorrows. For all the indulgence and attention 
with which you have listened to my ministry. O that that 
ministry, notwithstanding all. its imperfections, may be more 
abundantly blessed to you. May you so remember it, and 
so improve it, that when it is reviewed in the light of eter- 
nity, you may bless God for ever, that you have enjoyed it. 

« And now, my dear hearers, I must say, farewell. Be 
perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; 



190 



MEMOIR OF THE 



and the God of love and peace be with you.' To him I re- 
sign my charge. He is able to keep you from falling, and 
to present you faultless before the presence of his glory, 
with exceeding joy. To his paternal, and providential, and 
gracious care I commit you, while I bid you all an affection- 
ate — Farewell." 

January 21st. Installed pastor of the Second Presbyte- 
rian Church of Philadelphia. The constitution of this new 
relation involves, of course, new responsibilities. It is to 
influence the immortal destiny of multitudes. May the Lord 
give me wisdom, and strength, and grace to perform my 
duties so as to glorify his name, and to promote the salva- 
tion of immortal souls. 

TO MRS. S. 

" Philadelphia, Jan, 21sf, 1829. 

" By the kind care of our heavenly Father, I arrived 
here last evening, after 10 o'clock, in health and safety. 
The roads were bad. I came in the steamboat to Amboy. 

" Mr. H.'s family are well. They were much disappoint- 
ed that you did not come with me. 

" The installation is expected to take place this evening. 
The door appears to be wide and open. May the Lord 
come and aid me in labouring for him. 

" I learn that the last days of Dr. Chester* were pecu- 
liarly calm, peaceful and happy. The last night before he 
died he slept soundly and sweetly. He awoke much refresh- 
ed, spoke much in words of consolation and hope ; and died 
at 5 o'clock. His death has been expected for weeks, and 
every mind was made up for the event, to him so joyful and 
glorious ! 

* Mrs. Sanford was a member of his church. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



191 



« ^Tis done — and now he's happy. 
And the glad soul has not a wish uncrowned.* 

" Mrs. Chester is quite well, and bears her bereavement 
with great calmness and resignation. The Lord will sus- 
tain her. How loud the admonition, my dear wife, to live 
for God and for heaven. The night cometh ; let us work 
while the day lasts, and as if every day might be the last. 

" It is uncertain on what day I may reach Brooklyn ; pro- 
bably Tuesday next. As yet I have not met the session, 
congregation, nor the Presbytery. 

" Make your arrangements so as to be ready to leave 
Brooklyn in a few days after my return. Unless the roads 
should improve, we had better take two days to come here. 
Perhaps the boats may be running on the Delaware, which 
will make the journey easier. 

" Love to all friends — and may the light of God's coun- 
tenance rest upon your soul ; and the sweet sense of his pre- 
sence make you completely happy." 

TO THE SAME. 

" Philadelphia, Jan, 22d, 1829. 

" I wished to write you by the mail, to-day, but could not, 
with any satisfaction, for want of time ; and, as I have no- 
thing very special to communicate, I thought better to wait 
for the mail to-morrow. 

" Last evening I was installed pastor of the Second Pres- 
byterian Church in this city. The house was quite crowded. 
Services solemn and interesting. And oh, what conse- 
quences depend on this connexion ! The pastoral relation 
here formed, will be remembered both in heaven and hell ! 
May God grant the wisdom and grace necessary for the 
faithful and successful performance of every duty. May we 
both be enabled to adorn our profession and our station. 



192 



MEMOIR OF THE 



Many inquiries, of the most gratifying character, are made 
after you every day. And I believe we shall be received by 
the whole congregation with open arms. I am persuaded, 
that, when you come here, and see this affectionate people, 
your fears and anxieties will be dissipated in a moment. 
The causes of anxiety have appeared to you like so many 
mountains ; but they will become mere molehills, when you 
come nearer and see them as they really are. I hope you 
will seek daily, and earnestly, the qualifications and strength 
necessary for you. I do believe you will soon find yourself 
as much at home, and among as kind and generous friends 
as in Brooklyn. 

" I am much pleased with all I hear and see of this con- 
gregation ; and believe that my prospects for usefulness, 
and comfort too, are flattering. All hearts are in the hands 
of God." 

January 25th. Endeavoured to exhibit the apostle's 
commission. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20, and to urge the exhorta- 
tion of the apostle to the Thessalonians, 2, iii. 1. May the 
Lord give us all the spirit of prayer, that shall be prevalent 
for his blessing to attend his word. 

February 15th. Quite unwell, but preached all day from 
Luke, xii. 8, 9, and attended a prayer meeting in the lecture 
room in the evening. 

19th. Mrs. S. worse — expectorates blood. My prepara- 
tory service performed by Mr. How. My Lord fulfil thy 
promise: " My grace is sufficient for thee." 

21st. Attended the prayer meeting. Announced to the 
church the postponement of our communion, in consequence 
of the alarming illness of Mrs. S. Had a solemn season. 

O my God, teach me to pray as my dear Redeemer did 
in the night of his agony. " Father, if it be possible, let 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



193 



this cvp pass from me; nevertheless^ not my will^ hut thine 
he done*'*'' 

March 8th, Lord's supper administered. Congregation 
appeared solemn. May God add his blessing, and give a 
new impulse to his cause in the midst of us. Lord, may I 
commit my mortal and immortal all into thy hands and be 
at peace, and wait with silent submission to the decisions of 
thy most holy will. 

25th. What claims to gratitude and love for all the mer- 
cies of my heavenly Father, and especially for such encou- 
raging prospects of the recovery of my dear wife. 

April 8th, This evening addressed my congregation 
from John viii. 36. " If the Son shall make you free," &c. 
Oh that I may be made free from the condemnation, pollu- 
tion and misery of sin ; and know, by sweet experience, the 
whole amount of gospel liberty. 

TO MRS. s. 
" Philadelphia, April 15th, 1829. 

" Under the care of a kind providence I reached the city 
this evening before 7 o'clock ; called at Mr. H.'s, and took a 
cup of coffee ; learned that the Rev. Mr. R. was engaged to 
lecture for me, and feeling fatigued, concluded to come home 
instead of going to the lecture room. 

" I should like to know how you are now situated, and 
how you feel ; presume you are on board the Constitution, 
on your passage for Albany. May the Lord have you in 
his holy keeping, and comfort you with his perpetual pre- 
sence. I desire to commit you into the hands of Jesus, and 
leave you there, believing, that in his keeping you will be 
safe." 

17 



194 



ME3I0IR OF THE 



TO THE SAME. 

''April nth, 1829. 
" Nothing has occurred of any special interest, but the 
daily recurrence of the blessings of our covenant God and 
Father, " new every morning and fresh every evening." 
Oh that they may draw our hearts nearer to him, and fix 
our thoughts more upon him. Let us aim at more spiritu- 
ality ; this will be the safest way to obtain more peace and 

joy- 

" I was interrupted, while writing the last sentence, by 
a call from Mr. R. ; his family are well, I presume, as I in- 
quired in general, and respecting Mrs. C. in particular." 

TO THE SAME. 

''April 20/^,1829, 
" The hour of our appointment* was in some measure in- 
terrupted this morning, still I had a few moments of sweet 
communion with God, and I hope we may both enjoy more 
of his presence. 

" The services were, I hope, solemn and profitable yes- 
terday. I preached, in the morning, from the exhortation of 
Joshua : ' Choose ye this day whom ye will serve and in 
the afternoon presented the resolution, * As for me and my 
house, we will serve the Lord.' Evening exercises as usual 
— may God add his blessing. 

" I have commenced visiting ; and have visited, in all, up- 
wards of forty families. Expect to attend the meeting of 
Presbytery, this week, at Frankford." 

May 24:th. All the pleasures, privileges, and distractions 

* A prayer-meeting, composed of pastors, in Philadelphia, 
which Mr. S. attended. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



195 



of the General Assembly. May they all be improved. Ser- 
mons delivered to-day by three clergymen to the congrega- 
tion. O Lord, bless thy word and work. 

June 2\st. Sacramental Sabbath. Once more we have 
been " showing" the Lord's death ; may we bear it about 
with us, and thus make the Hfe of Jesus manifest in our lives 
continually. 

TO THE KEV. J. M. 

" September lAth, 1829. 
" I could not make arrangements to see you this summer. 
I wished to visit my aged mother, but while on my summer 
excursion I found so much to do in Montreal, officially, for 
a congregation which I am deeply interested in, that I felt 
constrained to relinquish a visit to my only surviving parent 
in Clarendon. 

" On my return through Lake Champlain I saw your 
brother Peter on the wharf, at Plattsburg, for one moment. 
He was there on account of the dangerous sickness of your 
mother. He feared she would not recover : he has doubtless 
written you, and the result will be arranged by a wisdom 
that never errs. May we always feel it, and learn to im- 
prove all the changes and sorrows of life to the glory of 
God, and to our own spiritual and eternal advantage. 

" Mrs. S. has been greatly benefited by our journey to 
Quebec, and unites with me in affectionate regards. I ob- 
serve Henry's Commentary is now completed. If you are 
not yet supplied with a copy I can furnish you with one, 
which can be forwarded as you direct. Allow me to hear 
from you soon, and tell me your plans and prospects." 



196 



MEMOIR OF THE 



TO THE SAME. 

" October ISth, 1829. 
" I am a little surprised that I hear nothing from you re- 
specting Henry's Commentar}^, or any thing else. I know 
there are many ways in which you may have been prevented, 
but the length of time since I have heard a word from you 
gives me some uneasiness ; and the subjects of my letters, 
too, have been such as to make your silence the more mys- 
terious. 

" I have just received a line from my brother Edwin, in- 
forming me that my mother is dangerously sick. Will you 
inquire of Dr. Elliott, who probably attends her, how she 
is, £Lnd write me immediately ? My letters to my brother 
are always delayed, or lie long in the office. 

" I feel anxious to learn from you if any thing has been 
done for the Biblical Repertory. We must sustain it, or we 
may as well give up the Presbv^erian cause at once. There 
is a prospect of obtaining Dr. R., eventually, as the sole 
editor of the work, though this is not for the public at pre- 
sent. In the mean time we may, and ought, to do some- 
thing to extend the curculation of it. * * 
* * * » * 

" I may see you this fall. It will depend, under God, 
upon my mother's health. Should she not be better, I shall 
come, if the Lord will." 

Syracuse, N. Y., Oct. 2btJi, 1829. Arrived at a late 
hour last evening, much to my regret and disappointment ; 
but have had some refreshing rest, and do hope to enjoy a 
profitable Sabbath, far from my ordinary labours, and far 
away from all my heart holds dear, except Jesus the beloved 
of my soul ! I do rejoice that he is omnipresent. Blessed 
Saviour, may I feel thy presence to-day. The loneliness of a 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



197 



stranger's feelings and circumstances are favourable to reli- 
gious duties, and tend to lead the mind to its only source of 
permanent enjoyment. In the circle of our friends, and our 
ordinary duties, there are other things to divert and distract 
the mind ; and, alas, how frequently do they draw the 
thoughts from God. O may this day be rendered memora- 
ble by the manifested presence of the God I love. 

Tuesday^ 21th. Reached Clarendon and found my mo- 
ther convalescent. Blessed be God that she is yet an inha- 
bitant of this world. Her sickness has been very severe and 
alarming. 

Wednesday, 28th, Left my brother's. Lectured for Mr. 
M. at Brockport, in the evening, and urged a little company 
of sinners " to strive to enter in at the strait gate," &:c. 
Meeting solemn. May the Lord bless his word, his cause 
and his people. 

29th. Took the boat for Rochester. Friends well. Nearly 
one year ago detained here several days, by the illness of 
my dear wife. Since then how many mercies ? O for more 
gratitude. 

TO MRS. S. 

''Packet-boat, near Utica, Oct. 2Uh, 1829. 
" We are now near Utica, and I take a few moments to 
tell you I am well. I reached Schenectady in time for the 
boat, and had the pleasure to find a pious captain, and very 
agreeable Christian company. I never had a more pleasant 
passage on the canal. We had worship last evening, and 
the due acknowledgment of God's care and goodness at our 
meals. 

" It is a sweet privilege to devote these moments to you 
while all the rest of the passengers are on deck or on shore; 
and sweeter still to devote you anew to the hands and the 
care of a covenant-keeping God, whose tender mercies are 
17* 



198 



MEMOIR OF THE 



over all his works, and who exercises a paternal care over 
the least and humblest of his children." 

TO THE SA.3IE. 

" Syracuse, Oct. 25th, 1829. 

" This holy morning finds me far away from the scenes 
and services, and the friends, and the peculiar privileges, and 
joys, and sorrows of ministerial life. But, blessed be God, 
we live not far from his presence and his throne. 

" We reached this place at a late hour in consequence of 
some unexpected delays. But I have been mercifully re- 
freshed by sleep, and feel that it is the Sabbath of the Lord. 
Some truly plaintive and touching airs were played by the 
boatmen, who were getting under weigh at an early hour; 
and, notwithstanding my grief that this day is here so dread- 
fully violated, I did enjoy the thrilling notes of the bugle, as 
they brought home to my mind some of the most tender and 
impressive sentiments which I used to sing with my sister in 
the days of other years, before the providence of God had 
separated us from the scenes of our childhood for ever, and 
from the society of each other. 

" It is now the hour for public worship, and I expect to 
hear Mr. A., the brother of the one who travelled with us 
last fall. May we both be fed by the provisions of God's 
house this day. 

" Sabbath evening. I have heard Mr. A. twice. In the 
morning, on the divinity of our Lord ; and in the afternoon, 
his object was to show why the church regards Christ as 
the 'chief among ten thousands, and the one altogether 
lovely.'" 

November 1st. Sabbath, Auburn. Dr. P. preached. I 
assisted in the administration of the Lord's supper, in the 
afternoon. How good to be thus refreshed in one's pilgrim- 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



199 



age. Occupied a room in which I have several times spent 
a Sabbath. How wise to recall the events of life, and look 
back to the past and forward to the future. Strengthen me, 
Lord, for every duty, every trial, every change. 

2d. Left at an early hour for Utica, where we arrived at 
too late an hour for the monthly concert. Hear the cries of 
thy supplicating church. Send forth thy light and truth to 
fill the whole earth. 

Sd. Left early in the canal-boat for Schenectady. How 
different the company and conversation from what we had 
on the other line. Pamphlets in favour of Sabbath-mails 
and amusements circulated. 

Reached Schenectady the next morning and took the 
stage for Albany, where we arrived at 12 o'clock. Found 
my dear wife well, and the family preparing for a marriage 
service in the evening. Company large and gay. Performed 
the service at 8 o'clock, and soon after retired with a clerical 
brother to another room, and had a pleasant and profitable 
interview. 

5th, Left for New York. 

6th, Visited a few Brooklyn friends. Dear is the scene 
of my first ministerial labours and trials. The scene of my 
first domestic joys and sorrows. 

7th, Left for Philadelphia. The day stormy. But the 
Lord preserved us, and we arrived in safety. 

January 1st, 1830. Another year is gone. May thy 
grace, O God, be given in measures and forms suited to my 
situation. Much of my life is passed, and, alas, I have done 
but little for eternity. Oh may I redeem the time and im- 
prove it for God and for souls. 

4:th, Monthly concert for prayer. Send down thy Spirit, 
O God, to bless thy word, to prosper thy cause, and to en- 
lighten the nations. May the representatives of the great 
republican family, in Congress assembled, be disposed to 



200 



MEMOIR OF THE 



legislate in the fear of God. May wisdom from above guide 
them ; may no sectional jealousy, no political or personal 
animosity prevent the enactment of such laws as thou wilt 
approve and bless. May they individually and officially 
sanctify thy holy Sabbath, and instead of legalizing its pub- 
lic profanation, may they repeal every statute which is incon- 
sistent with the law of God and the dictates of every enlight- 
ened conscience, and thus promote their own and their coun- 
try's interests, by preserving the day of sacred rest and the 
institutions of religion from unhallowed invasion. And in 
legislating for the people of these United States, may they 
remember that the rich and the poor, the bond and the 
free, the wise and ignorant, the weak and powerful, the red 
man and the white man, are all by nature free and equal, 
and have equal claims to the protection of those who have 
the keeping of the nation's faith and the nation's fame, and 
who, under God, have charge of the nation's destiny. May 
all our rulers and all our people be guided in the way of 
righteousness which is the only way of permanent national 
prosperity. 

TO THE REV. J. M. 

''January \^th, 1830. 

" Accept for yourself and your dear companion the com- 
pliments of the season. May the Lord afford you his pre- 
sence, and then the new year will be a happy one, and you 
will be making evident preparations for a state of happiness 
which circling years and ages shall never wear away. 

" But while I have daily occasion, and, I hope, desire to 
bless God for his unspeakable gift, I have also reason to 
thank him daily for many other blessings, of a temporal na- 
ture, which that gift procures. 

" I received a letter a few days since from brother G. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



201 



Mrs. G. is in delicate health. Brother G. is not satisfied 
where he is, and wishes, as soon as his engagement expires, 
to recede farther from the North Pole, and to come this side 
of the Green Mountains. 

" Dr. M'Auley has entered on his official labours with very 
gratifying prospects. May the Lord prosper him, and make 
him a blessing to this city of moral death and deadness. 

" May the blessing of Abraham, which comes on the 
Gentiles through Jesus Christ, be your present and eternal 
portion." 

24:th, Sabbath. Confined at home by sickness. O Lord, 
how frail is man ! Impress this lesson on my heart. Aid 
me and direct me in the way of holiness, and of arduous and 
faithful duty ; and give me such measures of success as may 
best promote thy glory and the good of Zion here. Teach 
me how to preach and how to live, so that Jesus may be 
honoured and sinners saved. Bless the congregation to 
which I am called to minister ; may the message delivered 
to-day be more abundantly blessed than mine would have 
been ; and may I desire to have thy cause prosper, though that 
prosperity should sink me into insignificance, and even into 
mortal infamy. But if it might please thee, bless thy word 
as administered by me, and let me seek thy salvation. 

February 6th, This day is the anniversary of my birth. 
The time flies as on eagles' wings, as the archer's arrow, as 
the swift ships, as the weaver's shuttle ; and whither am I 
borne by these winged moments of a brief and fugitive exist- 
ence ? Well may I cry out at this terrific career of mortal 
things. Read this morning at family worship 90th psalm ; 
Hope my heart responded to the prayer, " So teach us to 
number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wis- 
dom." May I be brought now to understand and answer 
the interesting question, upon which, I have been meditating 



202 



ME5I0IR OF THE 



as the theme of an address to my congregation : *' Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do?" 

March 1th. Again under the necessity of remaining at 
home in consequence of a severe cold. I think I feel an in- 
creasing solicitude for Zion. O thou King of Zion, feed the 
flame of love in my heart, and make it more intense and 
consuming. O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of us, 
and leave us not to incurable deadness and declension. Take 
away all our iniquities, and receive us graciously, prosper 
thine own cause, and glorify thy name. 

March ISth. Day of special humiliation and prayer. I 
rejoice in the appointment of a season for sorrow and sup- 
plication. Oh grant me true humility of heart and deep re- 
pentance. Enable me to look to Christ, and mourn over all 
my transgressions. As a sinner, as a husband, as a minister 
of Jesus Christ ; aid me in the exercises of this day, and 
accept and bless me. 

Accept, great Head of the church, the services in which 
thy people have been engaged this morning. May they 
learn to esteem others better than themselves. Oh may we 
be brought, by thy Spirit, into the place and the state in which 
thou wilt meet us in mercy. I would dedicate myself anew 
to God. How often have I attempted it — how often have I 
failed — broken my most solemn engagements ! Lord, bind 
my thoughts and affections to thy throne, and may all my 
heart and all my days be thine alone. 

Preparatory lecture this evening on the examination of 
those who would worthily approach the Lord's table, as to 
knowledge, faith and life. Leading aim to honour Christ. 
Alas, Lord, how deficient even while I point out the path of 
duty. May I understand the service which is expected of me 
as a minister of Jesus. Bestow divine assistance in perform- 
ing it, so that thy name may be glorified, thy people edified, 
thy cause promoted. But oh, may my soul be refreshed, 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



203 



may a holy impulse be felt, may I act more in the view of 
eternity. Saviour of sinners, 1 do desire to fly to thee for 
quickening grace. Sprinkle me with thy blood. Grant me 
such divine teachings that I can lead others in the way of 
holiness. " Oh for a closer walk with God." May thy 
presence be continually felt. Oh take not thy Holy Spirit 
from me, though I have often grieved him. May there be 
more piety in my intercourse with my ministerial brethren. 
Enable me to be more watchful over m.yself in this par- 
ticular. 

21sL Administered the Lord's supper. Preached in the 
morning from Song of Solomon ii. 4 : "He brought me," &c. 
Endeavoured to show how the sovereign grace of God is ex- 
ercised in bringing sinners to taste the delights of communion 
with him in his word and ordinances, and the rich provi- 
sions of his house on which he feasts them. 

Had a solemn day at the table ; urged the necessity of 
professing the name of Christ. Oh may we renew our formal 
and sincere dedication to God. May we renew our strength 
by waiting on him. 

24:th. Lectured this evening on Matt. iii. 16, in hope of 
enabhng professors to ascertain their characters. How im- 
portant that we should judge of the tree by its fruit, and not 
by its location, height, size, age, or any other circumstance. 
Lord, grant me grace to do this in my own case, and may 
I abound in fruits of righteousness. 

TO THE REV. J. M. 

March 6th, 18S0. 
*' Yours of the 26th of January was duly received on the 
2d of February. And I have waited thus long, in the hope 
of saying something definite respecting a loan for your con- 
gregation. I do not see any prospect of effecting it, unless 
one of my favourite enterprises succeeds. Every year there 



204 



MZMOIR OF THE 



are thousands of dollars given for building churches, and 
many of the applications descend to be turned civilly out of 
doors. I wish the friends and patrons of church building to 
organize and act upon the principle of loaning, giving only 
at discretion, and in cases of peculiar urgency. The benefits 
of such a system would be incalculable in general to all the 
parties. I have some hope of suc<;eeding in this, though like 
others I am often defeated, perhaps mercifully, in my plans 
for doing good. If we succeed, your loan can easily be 
effected ; if not, you might perhaps personally negotiate it. 

" Mrs. S. is in tolerable health, desires her affectionate 
remembrance to Mrs. M., and would be happy to see her 
with you in May, should the Lord spare us. My mother 
also is well, and much more contented than I dared to ex- 
pect. 

" This is a desolate part of Zion, my dear brother, and 
what God intends to do with his churches here, and with 
ours in particular, I know not. I cannot but hope he will 
sift, and winnow, and otherwise purify it, and visit us in 
mercy. We have the spiritual desolations of many genera- 
tions. May the Lord repair them. We have resolved on a 
day of special humiliation and prayer. May the Holy Spirit 
come in the midst of us, and bring us down to the state and 
in the place in which he will meet us with a blessing. 

" We have lately and silently organized a ' Presbyterian 
Tract Society,' to furnish such Tracts as cur churches need, 
and as the American Tract Society cannot supply. The 
measure will doubtless be censured, but I hope it will be so 
far patronised as to secure a supply of Tracts on the Consti- 
tution and Discipline of the Church, Duty of Ruling Elders 
and Deacons, &c., by the meeting of the Assembly in Ma v. 

" March Sth. My letter was not finished in time for the 
mail on S^.turday. I was unable to preach yesterday in 
consequence of a cold and hoarseness. Last night we had 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



205 



a fine thunder shower, and the fog that has hovered over us 
is gone, and all the snow with it. 

* As yet the trembling- year is unconfirm'd. 
And winter oft at eve resumes the breeze.' 

" Love to Mrs. M. and Anna."* 

April 1st. Verily, the time is short. Oh how swiftly 
time flies away. Divine Redeemer, fill me with thy love ; 
make me, 

1. More attentive and devout in reading the sacred scrip- 
tures. 

2. More constant, fervent, and prevalent in prayer. 

3. More particular in confession of sin. 

4. More watchful over my thoughts. 

5. More circumspect in all my deportment. 

6. More spiritual in ministerial intercourse. 

7. More faithful and tender in official duties. 

8. More economical of my time. 

" Then shall I love thy g-ospel more. 
And ne'er forg-et thy word; 
When I have felt its quickening" power 
To draw me near the Lord." 



TO MR. L.j OF BROOKLYN. 

[An answer to Mr. L.'s letter, which was addressed to Mr. 
Sanford immediately after his conversion.] 

''Philadelphia, April SOth, 1830. 
" Your favour of the 26th came duly to hand, and no one 
can understand the emotions of gratitude and joy it produced 



* A little daughter of the Rev. Mr. M., who bore the name of 
Anna Sanford, (in memory of Mr. S.'s first wife,) who also is now 
deceased. 

18 



206 



MEMOIR OF THE 



without knowing all the friendship and affection of a brother's 
heart, and all the intense solicitude, the sleepless anxiety, the 
tender concern, and the solemn responsibility of the minister 
and the pastor. I do rejoice with you and your dear com- 
panion, for all the goodness and the mercy with which the 
Lord has visited your soul. I desire to unite with you here, 
and hereafter, in ascribing to him all the glory. My heart 
responds an earnest ^Amen^ to the prayer that you ' may be 
a sincere, devout, and humble Christian,' and that you may 
be enabled to testify your love to Jesus by keeping his com- 
mandments ; and that you may glorify God, who has called 
you out of darkness into his marvellous light, by exemplify- 
ing the power and loveliness of the gospel of Christ, in a life 
of consistent and sincere obedience. 

" It would be a most grateful exercise to comply with your 
request, by addressing you ' a long letter' on the great duties 
of the Christian life, which, I trust, you have just commenced. 
Indeed, my dear brother, I have many things to say to you, 
but I cannot say them now. I have much fraternal counsel 
to give you, which I could not well communicate in one letter, 
though it should prove ' a long one.' But I will endeavour 
to comply with the spirit of your request, by sending you 
often in short letters, at such times as my pressing official 
duties will permit, and which may, by the blessing of God, 
afford you some useful hints respecting your Christian 
course. 

" You have already, I trust, learned something of the duty 
of * looking to Jesus.' It was in this way you first found 
peace and comfort to your troubled spirit. You found him 
a loving, life-giving Saviour. And now were I to tell you on 
my responsibility to God, and for eternity, what is your first 
duty as a Christian, I would say, ' look to Jesus ;' what the 
last duty, ' look to Jesus ;' what the main duty, it would be 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



207 



the same. ' As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so 
walk ye in him,' is an apostle's direction. 

" If the hope you now cherish should grow dim, and dark- 
ness and doubt should surround you, ' look to Jesus' — he is 
the sun of righteousness, and all that is cheering and illumi- 
nating must come from him. If your faith, in this season 
of its infant exercise, should seem to fail, and your fears 
should rush in upon your soul again, and the dreadful appre- 
hension should arise that all the past has been but a fond 
delusion, and that it cannot be possible you are a Christian, 
' look to Jesus,' the author and the finisher of faith, and cry 
unto him, ' Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.' And 
suffer not the adversary of souls to tempt you to question the 
veracity of God, or to distrust his grace. 

" Your heart is now tenderly impressed with a sense of the 
goodness of God, so that you want a thousand tongues to 
praise him. It melts with penitence when you think how 
your sins have pierced the Saviour ; and how long you have 
rejected his mercy and resisted his spirit. It overflows with 
gratitude, when you think of the love that would assume your 
guilt and take your chains. But should you ever feel it 
otherwise — should you find your heart still hard and insen- 
sible — should you have occasion to bewail your ingratitude 
and impenitence — should you feel the load of guilt again 
upon your conscience, and enough to sink you down for ever 
— should you lose the sweet sense of God's presence and 
favour, and be tempted to give up all for lost, ' look to Jesus ;' 
look to Jjiim for a renewed sense of pardon, for penitence, for 
gratitude, for peace, for all that is necessary to enable you 
to live to him here, and qualify you for his presence above. 
Keep your eye steadily upon Jesus, and your vision shall 
improve, your grace flourish, your example shine to the 
glory of God and the good of men, and you shall rise at last 



208 



MEMOIR OF THE 



to see him as he is, without a cloud, or glass, or doubt, for 
ever. 

" My dear wife unites with me in an affectionate and grate- 
ful remembrance to Mrs. L. and Mrs. S. ; indeed, to all 
Brooklyn friends beloved in the Lord. It will give me much 
pleasure to hear from you at your convenience, and to write 
you as often as my other duties permit, and without ceasing 
to mention you in my prayers." 

May 2d. Unable to attend the house of God. Pulpit 
supplied in the morning, church closed in the afternoon. 
Oh how important to have one's work always done, or ready 
to be left. How little I expected to be prevented from per- 
forming my ordinary services. But may the Lord feed his 
own flock, and carry on his own cause. Another month has 
passed away, and brought on the season of Zion's festivals. 
May my soul be filled with more love for God and for souls. 

9th. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Presented 
this inquiry to my congregation, as a theme for our mutual 
consideration. May I thus submit my all to the control and 
direction of the holy will and wise direction of God. Found 
my cold so oppressive that 1 could not go on with the sub- 
ject in the afternoon. 

TO MRS. S. 

Princeton, May 14fh, 1830. 
" I arrived here a little after eleven this morning. The 
weather was fine, the country delightful. The examination 
had been in progress some time. I dined to-day at Dr. M.'s, 
and now write according to promise, to set your mind at 
rest. 

" May the presence of Jesus bless and comfort you. It is 
that, my dear wife, more than any thing else, that can make 
you happy. Let your most ardent aspirations rise to him. 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



209 



Endeavour to make his service more and more the business 
of your life, and he will provide for every want. I feel con- 
demned that worldly cares are allowed to exert such an in- 
fluence upon my mind. I wish it were otherwise, and that 
I had more firmness of faith — that my soul might be stayed 
on God, and my mind thus kept in perfect peace. May you 
enjoy such a peace, and then you can perform the work of 
life with comfort and success. Love to all, and supplications 
for the presence of God to rest upon you." 

11th. Monday. In my address to the students of the Semi- 
nary at Princeton, urged the importance of more piety. O 
God, make the schools of the prophets more eminently holy. 

20th. General Assembly opened. O thou King of Zion, 
preside in the Assembly, pervade it with thy presence, direct 
all its deliberations and its decisions for thy glory and Zion's 
prosperity. 

2Qth. This day observed as a season of special prayer 
by the Assembly. May the throne of God be peculiarly 
accessible, and the cries of thy children reach the ears of the 
divine Majesty, and prevail for the best of blessings, 

June 21th. Lord's supper having been postponed for one 
week, was this day celebrated. Preparatory exercises on 
renewing covenant with God. Sermon, Luke ii. 14, consi- 
dered the good will of God at the very foundation of the plan 
of mercy. Had a comfortable season. God's presence was 
felt. O Lord, revive us all. 

"Ma?/ 26^A, 1830. 
" Your favour of the 11th instant was duly received, and 
relieved my mind from a long suspense, in which your 
silence had left me. I rejoice to hear that Mrs. M. is better. 
May the Lord in mercy spare her to you, your children, and 
the church. My dear brother, I desire to feel more and 

18* 



210 



MEMOIR OF THE 



more how feeble our hold is on life, and all life's dearest 
comforts, and to live daily for heaven. 

" The Assembly is now in session. Little has been done 
yet. Yesterday was the anniversary of the American Sun- 
day-School Union. One resolution contemplates planting a 
Sunday-school in every district in the valley of the Missis- 
sippi, where there is a population willing to patronise it, with- 
in two years, in reliance upon divine aid. A. Tappan, of 
New York, and S. Allen, of this city, have offered each four 
thousand dollars towards the accomplishment of this object. 

To-day the Assembly engages in special devotional ex- 
ercises; to-morrow business will begin in earnest. 

" We are in usual health. I want more gratitude for my 
many mercies, and grace to be more faithful in the service 
of God. Mrs. S. and my mother unite in affectionate re- 
gards to Mi-s. M. and yourself. May the Head of the church 
bless your labours, my dear brother." 

July 5th. Yesterday presented the claims of the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society to my congregation, and made 
some mention of our duties in relation to the coloured 
population of our country. In the afternoon met the chil- 
dren of the congregation for catechetical instruction. O 
God of Zion, look on this lovely flock, and take these dear 
immortals under thy immediate care, and train them for thy- 
self. To-day the sons of freedom celebrate their indepen- 
dence. Forbid that they should remain the slaves of Satan, 
wear his chains and perform his drudgery. To-day the 
church of God raises the voice of her supplications for bless- 
ings upon a world lying in wickedness. Oh may many 
prayers rise unto God for the preservation of our country's 
liberties. May the influences of the Holy Spirit descend 
upon us as a people and a nation, and may we become a 
people whose God is Jehovah. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



211 



TO MRS. S. 

" Atsioji, July SOth, 1830. 

" We have just arrived, after a very pleasant ride, and 
find this interesting family in good health. My head has 
not suffered from the ride; and I do hope my visit, which 
must be short, will be useful to me. The driver returns this 
afternoon, and by him I send this line, simply to tell you that 
we have arrived in safety. Surely God is loading us with 
his benefits, and calling upon us to love and serve him more. 

" The young ladies, S., E. and A., send their love, and 
desire me to thank you for your letter." 

August 1st. In the country, quite disabled by the unusu- 
ally oppressive heat of the summer. Preached in a small 
house of worship. May the Lord bless the exercise, and 
make the day profitable to me and to my congregation, at 
home, who will have one sermon in my absence. O how 
important to work while the day lasts. 

Sd. Returned and found my dear wife and family in com- 
fortable health. Bless the Lord, O my soul. May I begin 
with new zeal to serve him. Holy Spirit, take possession of 
my heart. 

22d. Preached, to-day, from Ps. xxvii. 4. " One thing 
have I desired of the Lord," &c. Had been unable to write 
or even think much, on the subject, in consequence of a 
nervous affection of the head; but the Lord assisted me. 
Have been injured by too close attention to the Psalms and 
Hymns, which have been committed to me to prepare for 
the press.* I hope they may aid the devotions and promote 

* Mr. Sanford was a member of the committee appointed for 
that subject. 



212 



MEMOIR OF THE 



the sanctification of the people of God long after I shall have 
joined the worshippers above. 

August 29th. Urged, to-day, the duty of repentance and 
the encouragement, Ez. xviii. 30. Why will sinners refuse 
to forsake their sins and come to Christ ? They need not 
die. Christ is willing to save them ; and if they will turn 
unto God, and set their hearts to seek him, as they set them 
on worldly enterprises, they will find him and he will bless 
them. 

September 5th. Oppressed with a cold w^hich rendered 
preaching extremely difficult, yet was enabled to preach 
once, to carry on the series of subjects on hand, from John 
viii. 21. "Ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins." 
This awful prediction has been fulfilled in relation to the 
Hebrews. God's curse is threatened, Deut. xxviii. ; and if we 
change the future tense to the past, the chapter will give us 
the history of the execution of it. It is not less true of the 
hearers of the gospel. O may I attend to this awful sub- 
ject, both as a sinner and a minister. Alas, how much dead- 
ness in religion; how much am I absorbed in worldly cares. 
" My soul lies cleaving to the dust." O Lord, revive me, 
give me life divine. In this season of domestic solicitude 
help me to fix my mind more on God, and may my fondest 
expectations be from him. 

Sept. 6th. My dear wife a joyful, grateful mother ; and 
her unworthy, and, alas, too ungrateful husband, a father. 
Will the Lord grant us grace to praise and glorify him. O 
to fulfil our new duties in his fear. May our child be spared 
to be a blessing, and may its spared life be made a blessing 
to us and to the world. Lord, we would bring up this child 
for thee, and thee alone. The Lord has dealt in great mercy 
with us, and more than realized our fondest hopes. 

8th. My dear wife and babe apparently doing well. Bless 
the Lord, O my soul. Rainy this evening, changed the 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



213 



evening lecture to a prayer meeting. Feel it good to look 
to Christ and cast every care on him. 

\2th. Preached this morning on quenching the Spirit, and 
followed up the subject in the evening. Rev. Mr. S. kindly 
aided me in the afternoon. O that we may enjoy the Spi- 
rit's presence in the church and congregation. 

My dear M. is better. O may the very shaking of the 
rod prove sufficient, by thy grace, to bring us nearer to the 
cross. Preached a preparatory lecture this evening, 1 Pet. 
i. 16. O may we, as a church, strive for more evident at- 
tainments in holiness, and may all thy providences and or- 
dinances be blessed and improved to this end. 

*19^^. Sabbath. Sacramental occasion. Preached this 
morning from Luke xxiv. 26, the last of a series of sacra- 
mental discourses, on the necessity and nature of the suf- 
ferings of Christ, and on his exaltation. Lord's supper. 
Had some enjoyment. Felt Christ's nearness and precious- 
ness. O to be more devoted to him and his cause. 

2Qth, Sabbath. Preached from Heb. ii. 3. " How shall 
we escape if we neglect so great salvation .'' " Met the chil- 
dren in the afternoon, and held the usual exercises in the 
evening. Bless thy word, O God, and revive thy work. 

October Sd. Sick with a cold, and detained from the 
house of God. The Rev. Mr. How supplied the pulpit. 
Lord restore me, if thou hast work for me to do. Revive 
the drooping graces of my soul. 

Gth, Still unable to go out on the evening of my lecture. 
May the supply, providentially sent, be blessed to the people. 
May the recollections of this day of the month warm my 
heart with gratitude. 

lOtk, Attended the sanctuary; but afraid to trust myself 
in the public exercises of so large a house and congrega- 
tion. Have high hopes of resuming my official duties this 
week : cough abated, though still troublesome. Lord, give 



214 



MEMOIR OF THE 



me strength and zeal to labour for thee and for souls. How 
much of my life is already gone ! How little have I accom- 
plished for God and for eternity ! 

13/A. Lecture this evening on Hab. iii. 2. " O Lord, re- 
vive," &c. Considered the import of the prophet's prayer; 
what is involved in a willingness to offer it ; and the result 
that may be expected from such an exercise. May we all 
desire it. O Lord, revive us. 

TO HIS BROTHER, ON THE DEATH OF HIS OLDEST DAUGHTER. 

''Philadelphia, Oct. 20th, 1830. 

" The death of a child, at such an age, will have a ten- 
dency to lead to serious reflection on the course pursued, "on 
government and education. 

" It should lead you, the parents of your children, to in- 
quire what you are now doing to bring up your children for 
eternity and heaven. 

" I have often written you on this subject ; and, perhaps, 
you may sometimes feel as if I thought too much about your 
children. But, in the course of my official duties, I see in- 
stances in which parents wholly neglect the souls of their 
children, and treat them like animals merely. And I see 
other instances where parents are training up their offspring 
in the fear of the Lord. 

Oh that you and your wife may so improve the provi- 
dence that has called you to mourn, that you may be more 
faithful to your surviving children. My wife and child, as 
well as our dear mother, are now in a comfortable state of 
health. 

TO THE SAME. 

" New York, April ISth, 1830. 
*' None can be either comfortable or happy, until they 
give their hearts to God, and endeavour to make his ser- 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



215 



vice and his glory the great end and object of their lives. 
We must make religion our chief business. We must study 
the word of God, and pray over it, for instruction. Every 
day we must forsake all sin, and turn to God, and he will 
own and bless us. It is true, God is a sovereign, and he 
gives grace to whom he will ; and so he is just as much a 
sovereign in dispensing the bounties of providence. He 
gives health and prosperity to one and not another. But yet, 
if the means are neglected, the end will not be realized. If 
the farmer does not prepare the earth, and sow the seed, and 
fence the field, he cannot expect a harvest. If he does this, 
he may justly expect a crop, and he will rarely be disap- 
pointed. And so, if a sinner does not read, believe, and obey 
the word of God, he cannot expect to be saved. If he does 
this, he will be saved, he will not be disappointed. (See 
Isaiah, Iv. ; John iii. 14, 15, 16, &c.) And now, my dear 
brother, seek first the kingdom of God, and all its blessings 
will be yours. 

" May the Lord bless you all," 

November Gth, The second anniversary of my second 
marriage ; my infant son two months old. With how many 
benefits art thou loading us, O God of my salvation ! Every 
day adds to their number and to their value. Former bless- 
ings continued ; new ones bestowed. When shall my soul 
be all on fire with love and gratitude, and my life show forth 
thy praise continually? 

November 11th. A day recommended by the General As- 
sembly to be spent in fasting, humiliation and prayer, in 
view of the sin of Sabbath breaking, which prevails through 
the church and nation. 

May thy people truly humble themselves in thy sight, and 
repent and find mercy. May my soul make progress in her 



216 



MEMOIR OF THE 



own work for eternity. Preached this morning, Jer. xvii. 27, 
and continued the subject in the evening. 

WRITTEN IN A YOUNG LADy's ALBUM. 

November 2M, 

" My dear A.— While friendship and flattery, piety and 
genius bring their various offerings to fill up the pages of 
this volume, another book is preparing which contains a 
faithful history of your life. The present volume you may 
peruse with various emotions when every hand that has 
written it shall be in the dust ; but the other, you shall exa- 
mine after you are no longer numbered among the living. 

" It is preserved, as well as written, on high ; and it con- 
tains all the facts and the evidence by which the Judge of all 
the earth will decide when he fixes your abode and your 
companions for eternity. In the exercise of memory you 
can now peruse its principal pages, though many may have 
become, to you, illegible from the lapse of time. 

" As I contemplated the book my mind was arrested and 
pained by such broken sentences as * Neglected the Sa- 
viour.^ * Received the grace of God in vain,^ 

" Another sentence met my observation : ' She was often 
warned, urged, entreated to accept the blood-bought mercies 
of the Son of God, but' 

" It was left unfinished, and it is for you to make out the 
remaining clause. How would you wish to have it stand ? 
It is important soon to decide ; for as the recording angel 
laid down the pen, another arose. The book will soon be 
completed. The record will stand for ever! Whatever 
you desire to add to the history, previous to the day of final 
reckoning — add it to-day — to-day — to-day ! 

" My young friend will excuse a subject at once so grave 
and so personal, and which will lose none of its importance 



REV. JOSEPH SATfFORD. 



217 



when the heart which has dictated this effusion, and the hand 
that has recorded it shall be cold and still. 

« J. S.» 

December 6th* Day never to be forgotten. What hold 
is this which the mind retains on objects out of sight ? On 
beings no longer known among the living? On friends, 
from whom death has separated us ? O we shall meet again. 
Fond idea to my fond and bleeding heart. Those we have 
loved on earth shall be loved in heaven. There, they shall 
shine in the glory of God, and be like the Saviour, to whose 
grace they owe and ascribe their bliss. And why should 
not our affection for them be cherished? "Prepare me, Lord, 
for thy right hand; then come the joyful day." Lord, sanc- 
tify my heart. 

December Slst, 1830. Here I make my last record for 
the closing year. It has been a year of the goodness of the 
Lord ; but of the ingratitude of men. I am nearer eternity 
than ever. Much, very much, of my time has run to waste. 
O Lord, quicken me to live and act for thee. To feel that 
the time is short, and strive to redeem it. May the view T 
now take of the time past, influence me in improving more 
diligently the time that may remain to me. May all the 
hours of the coming year appear as valuable as the remain- 
ing hours of this. And may I wait the close of hfe as calmly 
as I expect the striking of the midnight hour, that shall an- 
nounce that the year 1830 is gone for ever, and the year 
1831 has commenced. 

January 1, 1831. Already I am in another year. God 
of my life, thou art the same for ever. " Teach me to num- 
ber my days, so as to apply my heart to wisdom." Much 
of my life is gone. How little may remain to me is known 
only to him who holds my time in his hand. God of these 
changing seasons, grant thy grace to aid me in duty, in liv- 
19 



218 



MEMOIR OF THE 



ing to thy glory, to improve every moment as it flies to eter- 
nity, in preparing for my own departure. 

January 2d. " The time is short," was the theme of my 
discourse, this morning, considered in relation to the dura- 
tion of the world, the whole term of human life, and the 
sinner's day of grace. 

January 2Sth. Day for special prayer, with humiliation 
and fasting, in the Presbyterian churches in the city. Have 
felt «ome sense of the presence of God. O Lord, repeat 
and prolong the gracious visit. May my soul be truly and 
deeply humbled, and then raised up and revived. 

'tis thine to cleanse the heart, to sanctify the soul, 

To poui- fresh lite in every part, and new create the whole." 

O dehver me from this dreadful spiritual deadness ; grant 
me a melting view of the cross and the love of Christ — deeper 
repentance of my sins ; give me faith to lay hold of the hope 
set before me in the gospel. 

February. My birthday. How solemn the recollections 
of this day. One year nearer the end of my mortal career. 
Thirty-four years I have already numbered. The mercy of 
God has continually attended me. How kindly has he cared 
for me. How condescendingly has he employed me in his 
service. Oh Lord, I have been an unfaithful servant. How 
little have I done for God, the great husbandman, whose 
field I have occupied, and whose bounty has sustained me ! 
May I renew my soul's engagements to be the Lord's. Alas, 
how often have I renewed them, and as often violated them. 
Jesus, my divine, dishonoured master, bind my wandering 
heart to thee. May I now arise to new zeal and fidelity in 
thy service. Enable me to five, henceforth, with my con- 
versation in heaven. 

• February i2th. An eclipse of the sun. O how this event, 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



219 



which is so intelligible to every cultivated mind, but which 
fills the benighted heathen with such a superstitious awe, is 
calculated to remind us of the time when the sun shall be 
darkened in the heavens, not because an intervening orb 
sends a dark shadow on the earth, which is quickly gone, 
but because the God that made it shall arrest it in its course 
and quench its glory. O my soul, prepare for that dread 
day. 

23<?. Special prayer and conference in the church ; some 
melting among God's people ; deepening impressions of past 
unfaithfulness. May it prove to be a day long to be remem- 
bered. O Lord, revive thy work in my soul. 

Feb. 21th, Addressed my congregation, all day, from 
Ez. xxxiii. 11. Strange that sinners should be willing to 
die, since it is not desirable, nor necessary ; since God does 
not desire it, nor his glory demand it. 

March 6th. " Behold, now is the accepted time," &c. 
Felt, in preaching to-day, on this subject, as if it is an ac- 
cepted time, and a day of salvation indeed. Many things 
concur to make it a most favourable time to seek the Lord. 
His Spirit is descending on some parts of the city, and on 
many parts of the land. Glory be to his name. 

March 17th, Day of voluntary prayer for the revival of 
God's work in the city. Had some sense of God's presence. 
My own mind rather uneasy on account of the indisposition 
of my child. Lord, I would commit him to thee without 
reserve. Help me to do so. 

ISth, This evening had a narrative of the work of grace 
in Rochester. O that Christians would wake up to do the 
work of God and plead for his blessing. 

20^^. Preached this morning, on the necessity of the ex- 
altation of Christ. 

P. M, Lord's supper ; Dr. Green assisted. Had some- 
thing of God's presence. The day profitable to some of 



220 



StEXOIE OF THE 



God's people. May it be the beginning of good things in 
tiie congregation. 

27th. Addressed the church on Is. Lx. 1. " Arise, shine," 
coasidered as a call to prosperity, and joy, and activity, and 
duty. that we might arise to do the work of God. Spirit 
of hght and truth, quickoQ and enlighten us. 

April Sd. Concluded the subject on Is. Lx. 1. Oh God, 
may thy set time to favour us come ; or is there no time ? 
Hast thou determined to leave this people in their deadness 1 
Lord, my unbelief is enough to bring thy curse on the flock, 
blasting on the heritage. The deadness has existed long 
before my unfaithfulness could produce it ; and thou canst 
glorify thy name by affording, even to me, more spiritual 
life, and success in the gospel of thy Son. Paul might plant 
and Apollos water, but it would be in vain without thy bless- 
ing. O Lord, revive thy work. 

April 19th. Meeting of Presbytery. Alas, how Uttle of 
the spirit of Jesus Christ 1 And these the ministers of the 
gospel of peace ! Are they animated by the love of God ? 
Actuated by unmingled zeal for his glory, and the prosperity 
of the church ? O thou Spirit of peace, thou Spirit of truth, 
shed thy hght into all of our hearts, and fill them with love, 
that we may glorily thy name, and strengthen the hands, 
and rejoice in the labours of all who love Jesus Christ in 
sincerity. 

21st. Presbytery still in session, and no time yet to attend 
to the spiritual condition of the churches and the state of 
rehgion. O when shall the power of religion be deemed 
more important than the mere form of it ? When shall thy 
people and thy ministers give more e\'idence of spiritual life, 
and feel less jealous of those who are not contented with a 
name to labour? May the means suggested to raise the 
tone of feehng, and rouse the professed fiimds of Christ to 
activity, be blessed of God ^ 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



221 



Wednesday^ May 11th, Special prayer for more feeling 
and faith in my own soul, and in the church. My inmost 
spirit mourns in view of the desolations of Zion ! How long, 
how mournful ! AVhen shall they be built up ? O that thy 
people might begin to take pleasure in the dust and ruips of 
Jerusalem here. O that we might be convinced that we 
have wandered far, and fallen low ; and that with one aC' 
cord we . might arise and return to our Father, Some ten- 
derness in our evening exercises. 

Trenton, N. J. May 11th. How many and how tender 
the recollections fondly cherished concerning scenes that 
have passed in this city. Visited the dear spot where Mrs. 
Jackson lived and died; where I found and loved my A. 
How precious to my heart is the remembrance of these now 
citizens of Zion. The house and the garden remain as they 
were ; but, O, how changed the inhabitants ! How often 
have I entered that hall where the arms of loved ones were 
spread out to embrace me ; their voices spoke a welcome 
which sent gladness to my soul. But now all is still ; they 
are gone ; those voices, attuned to the immortal melodies of 
heaven. I visited the grave of Mrs. J. ; the greep sod co- 
vers it ; read the precious text selected by my A. " Blessed 
are the dead," &c. My gratitude arose that the father and 
mother of my dear A. had welcomed their daughter to the 
bliss of heaven. May M. and S. and myself, and all who 
were dear to them, prepare to follow and join them. 

O God, may I live more for eternity, and may the dear 
partner of my joys and sorrows, and the dear babe thou hast 
given us, rise, and shine, and sing in that world where all 
the loved ones, who have died irj Jesus, now inherit the pro- 
mises. 

IQth. This evening prayer for the blessing of God on the 
General Assembly now convening, that their visit to our city 
may be blessed to them and to us. O what an influeuce 
19* 



•222 



MEMOIR OF THE 



might be exerted through the united prayers of God's mi- 
nisters and people, on the city, on our whole church, and on 
the world. O thou prayer-hearing God, listen to the cries 
of thy children, and visit us in mercy. 

22d. Dr. Miller, Mr. Proudfit and Dr. Spring, preached 
for us. May the Lord bless his word and his servants. 
Evening exercise peculiarly impressive. Oh how wide is 
the gate, how broad is the way, and what a multitude of 
travellers ! Lord, may I be led in the right way. 

2Sd. Reports of the work of God's grace in the churches. 
O how rich the grace. What hath God wrought ! May the 
divine Spirit pervade the Assembly, and give character to 
all their proceedings ; and, through them, exert such an in- 
fluence on the United States as shall make the reports pre- 
sented next year more glorious still. O Lord, revive thy 
work- 

24:th. Anniversary of the American Sunday School Union. 
Attempted to call the attention of the friends of Sabbath 
schools to the true object of Sabbath school instruction, 
and urged the necessity of a higher standard for the quali- 
fications of teachers, the importance of parental co-opera- 
tion, of united and unceasing prayer to God for his blessing. 

29th, Dr. M'Cartee, Dr. Herron and Mr. Kirk preached. 

" June ISth, 1831. 
" My dear A. — I hoped to see you and your friend E. to- 
day, but it has not been in my power. And, as I leave the 
city in the morning, I wish to suggest to you both the inquiry, 
Why will you not own and honour Christ ? What more can 
he do to deserve your confidence, and to fix your warmest 
affections upon himself? Are you making a decision now, 
which you will approve on a dying bed, and review with 
pleasure at the judgment bar? You will pardon (and may 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOKD. 



223 



I hope, improve ?) this affectionate warning from your friend 
and pastor. 

J. S." 

During the preceding month Mr. Sanford received a unani- 
mous invitation from the M'Cord Church in Lexington, Ken- 
tucky, to become their pastor. The following is a copy of 
a letter addressed to him by many members of that church 
and congregation, on that occasion. 



''Lexington, May llth, 1831. 

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, 

" We enclose you, under sanction of Presbytery, which is 
attached, the call of the M^Cord Church, a copy of which, 
without waiting the meeting of the Presbytery, we took early 
occasion to send under cover of our letter on 30th April. 

"In performing our duty in transmitting this call, we 
seize the occasion to renew briefly the expression of the 
earnest desires we feel on the subject. The more we have 
revolved it over in our minds, the more anxious have we be- 
come that success should attend our application. The more, 
dear sir, we have heard of your personal character and 
ministerial qualifications, and of their peculiar importance 
and suitableness to the present wants of our church, town, 
and state, the more ardent and desirous are we to hear of 
your favourable answer ; for the persuasions and convictions 
on this subject are so vivid and solemn in our minds — with- 
out knowing what particular causes might interfere to pre- 
vent it — we are ready to persuade ourselves that our heavenly 
Father will direct you to us ; and in anticipation we see rising 
already from your early labours among us the richest fruits 
and most grateful returns : in your timely presence, and ac- 
companied by His blessing, without whose aid all human 



224 



MEMOIR OF THE 



effort is fruitless, our little Zion, no longer in dust and ashes, 
will be more than renewed in its beauty ; and the moral wil- 
derness around us shall be made glad, and our deserts, 
hitherto barren or growing with weeds, shall blossom as the 
rose. 

" Not only from our solemn conviction of your eminent 
suitableness to the field of labour which we deem invitingly 
open here, but from the weekly, the constant experience of 
our necessities and wants, and of those which religion bewails 
in our town and country at large, are we anxious and urgent. 
For we are solemnly impressed with the opinion, that there 
are few situations any where in our widely extended country, 
including the most populous cities of the seaboard, where the 
devout and able minister of God may plant himself with bet- 
ter hope of reaping a higher and more enduring reward. 
Most of the reasons for this opinion we have glanced at in 
our first letter — we should be glad they were fully before 
you as we conceive them — but the limits of this letter forbid 
us to enlarge upon them. To our friend Mr. R. J. Breck- 
enridge, a member of the General Assembly, who has pro- 
mised us to wait upon you, we would respectfully and confi- 
dently refer for much information that you might find it 
interesting to be possessed of : and Mr. Abraham T. Skill- 
man, one of our elders, we hope has made it his business to 
see you ; he lefl Lexington a few days only before the call 
was made, but if we mistake not was aware of the intention 
of the congregation, and has been apprised by letter of their 
united act and effort. 

" The fact of a hearty unanimity and desire on the part 
of the church and congregation, we think a matter worth 
repeating to you with some emphasis in this letter ; we feel 
it in this instance cause of particular gratification and joy. 
And we deem it proper in this place to say, that the subject 
of your election and call as our pastor has been much spoken 



SEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



225 



of in Lexington since the day it was made, and much desire 
is felt and expressed on the part of the Christian community, 
as well as by friends of religion, that it might be accepted. 
We feel it would not be going too far to say, that an ex- 
tensive and general desire is felt upon the subject, which 
we rejoice to think would do much to prepare the way for 
a prosperous and harmonious career of ministerial duty. 

" Should our solicitations receive your favourable regard, 
and our divine Master direct your steps to labour here, we 
offer you our most affectionate greetings, and shall joyfully 
welcome your approach. We give you the assurance of our 
willingness to co-operate with you to the utmost of our abili- 
ties in the work of the Lord, and that we shall be happy to 
see that you want for nothing in our power to render your 
situation easy and comfortable among us. 

" We pray you may be relieved from any difficulty in 
this case, and that you may be permitted to see the way clear 
before you where our adorable Head calls you to work — 
and we cannot but have a full reliance on the issue. That 
he may of his infinite goodness grant you the long enjoy- 
ment of health, and abundantly prosper your exertions in his 
cause, in whatever part of bis vineyard you may labour, is 
the devout wish of, 

Rev. and dear sir, your friends," 



To this call Mr. Sanford felt it to be his duty to give the 
following reply, in which he assigned the reasons which in- 
duced him to decline its acceptance. 



^^Philadelphia, June 6th, 1831. 

" WM. A. LEAVY, ESQ., 

" My dear sir — Through you, as the only individual of 
the congregation worshipping in the M'Cord Church whom 



226 



MEMOIR OF THE 



I know, I wish to reply to the communications of the 30th of 
April and 11th of May, which came duly to hand. 

" On the interesting subject they present, I have carefully 
perused the representation of your letters, have conversed 
with several gentlemen members of the Assembly and others, 
who are well acquainted with Lexington and its inhabitants, 
its wants, and prospects, and its commanding situation in the 
bosom of the great valley of the west, and especially have I 
endeavoured to look up to the great Head of the church, to 
ask, ' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?' and now set 
down to write you the result of my deliberations and prayers. 

" My previous opinions, formed on general representations 
concerning Lexington and the M'Cord Church, have been 
more than confirmed. I am persuaded there are few if any 
situations west of the mountains, more important and de- 
sirable ; and I do not hesitate to say, that were I disengaged, 
or could I feel that the Head of the church actually called 
me to disengage myself from all my Atlantic associations, I 
should cheerfully set my face toward the setting sun. 

" My heart's fondest desires have long been to preach the 
gospel, either personally or instrumentally, to every creature. 
And that post of duty, whatever be the difficulty or danger 
attending it, which will enable me to act most efficiently for 
this object, is the post I choose. 

" It was such a prospect as this that brought me to this 
city, against every dictate of worldly interest and personal 
comfort, and indeed when every earthly consideration urged 
me to remain. I left a people who were to me all that a 
pastor's heart could desire, and a place, which, from its pe- 
culiar situation, and the circumstances attending my resi- 
dence in it, dearer to my heart than any spot on earth. 

" An imperious sense of duty influenced me to the step, 
and the hope of doing more to attain the favourite object of 
my heart, and to accomplish which I trust will ever be the 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



227 



ruling purpose of my life, animated me while I took it, in the 
midst of many regrets and many tears. 

" Until I consider the experiment here as fairly tried, and 
the Head of the church as clearly directing me to a field of 
wider usefulness and higher promise, nothing could induce 
me to remove. 

" The situation of our Atlantic churches in general, and 
of those in this city especially, is such at the present time, 
that in my own opinion, and in the estimation of every man 
I have consulted, it would be highly inexpedient to disturb 
my present connexion. Your friends who have been in the 
Assembly will be better able to appreciate this subject, than 
those who have not been on the ground. They can see the 
relation which these churches sustain to the cause of religion 
in our country, and the cause of missions throughout the 
world. 

" Long and profoundly have they slumbered over the last 
command of the risen Redeemer, and over the present and 
the prospective wretchedness of millions of the human race. 
But here and there a sentinel on the heights of Zion is begin- 
ning to awake, and to sound the Master's signal to activity 
and duty ; and some pastors and congregations do already 
begin to move. In this work I shall be happy to bear some 
humble part ; and if this, or any kindred object, should lead 
me across the mountains, I shall feel a peculiar pleasure in 
visiting Lexington, and shall hope to find all the pulpits sup- 
plied with preachers, 

* Such as Paul, 
Were he on earth, would hear, approve, and own.* 

" May the Lord speedily supply you, and may the Shep- 
herd of Israel take charge of his flock, and gather you, and 
all of your children, into the fold of his mercy." 



228 



MEMOIR OF THE 



June 15th. Returned from Brooklyn, where I left my 
dear wife and babe this morning. O Lord, may I see him 
and his dear mother soon in health. Take them under thy 
care, O Shepherd of Israel, and carry them in thine ever- 
lasting arms. 

O great Physician, restore and preserve the health of our 
child ; and may he be a rich blessing to thy church, and to 
the poor, unworthy parents who have loved him too well ; 
who have loved the great Giver too little. Lord, I am con- 
vinced, and have long felt, that this is the case. Lord, for- 
give, and grant repentance, and may it not become necessary 
in correcting us, to take away our child. 

18^^. Letter informs me, to-day, that my child is really 
sick. A physician has been called : active medicines resorted 
to ; and appearances encouraging. To whom can I go but 
unto thee, O God. Lord, help me, help me to confide in thee, 
and to commit all to thee. Lord, forgive ; he is thine, but 
my faint and fearful heart would fondly cling to this dear, 
alas, too dear, object of my affections and hopes. O my 
God, raise him up, if it may consist with thy holy purposes; 
or help me and my dear companion to bear the bereaving 
stroke hke Christians, supported by thy kind hand. Lord, 
spare him and bless him for Jesus' sake. 

19th. Lord's day. God of the Sabbath, meet my soul 
in mercy to-day. May I be stayed on God, and be aided in 
my arduous duties. May this day be rendered memorable 
by thy displays of mercy. My mind much distressed re- 
specting my child. Tried to cast him on the arms of the 
Lord. For life and death may he be thine. The day was 
solemn and the audience attentive. Lord, revive thy work 
and bless thy heritage. Give it not to a perpetual reproach. 

20th, Left the city at 6, for Brooklyn, to see my dear 
child. Lord, give me true submission to thy will. Arrived 
at 7 o'clock, and found the child better. Bless the Lord, O 



KEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



229 



my soul, for all his benefits. May I regard the child as the 
Lord's entirely and for ever. May he live to praise thee, O 
God. 

26th. Our little charge more comfortable. God of the 
Sabbath, receive the gratitude of our hearts. Bless to the 
people of my charge the message of thy grace this day, and 
make the day thy Zion's favoured hour. 

[In consequence of the illness of our dear babe, Dr. 
Mitchell desired our journeying with him. My husband 
accompanied me as far as Albany, and wrote the following 
letter during his passage in the steamboat to New York, re- 
turning to the city of Philadelphia.] 

TO MRS. S. 

" Steamboat New Philadelphia, June 28<A, 1831. 

" The rain has descended in torrents for some time, but 
we make good progress, ' dragging at each remove a length- 
ened chain.' I have left all my earthly treasures behind — 
wife and only child. May the Lord have you under his 
kindest care. It is trying to be separated ; but I regard it as 
the will of the master I serve, and he is a good master. He 
gives us all our friends and comforts, and has a right to re- 
quire us to leave them all to serve him. Oh could we feel 
more ready to do this, how much higher and purer would 
our joys become ! We should enjoy our friends better, and 
love them more ; and yet Christ would be dearer to us than 
all, and every other friend would be regarded as some faint 
reflection of his love and goodness. 

" Since I came on board, I have been reading a few pages 
of Bickersteth's Christian Student. He takes an interesting 
view of the grounds on which false hopes are built ; he speaks 
of a dead faith, excited feelings; acts of obedience, religious 
services and works of benevolence; the mercy of God with- 

20 



230 



MEMOIR OF THE 



out respect to the merits of Christ; our own goodness, con- 
joined with the merits of Christ, as among the most com- 
mon and the most fatal ; and which will all be swept away 
by the flood of divine wrath. And then proceeds to state, 
with much sweetness, that ' Christ crucified is the founda- 
tion of the sinner's hope, Christ on the mediatorial throne 
is the sovereign of the redeemed. Christ, by his word and 
spirit, in the heart, is the believer's life. Christ, in glory, 
is the elevating object of the saints' expectation.' 

" Oh, my dear M., may Christ be our foundation, sove- 
reign, life, our hope, and our eternal portion. 

" I will hope to finish this line to-morrow, if the Lord 
will, and mail it at Princeton—perhaps send it by the boat 
in the morning. May the God of Israel keep you and your 
dear little one, this night, in safety and health." 

29th. Left Albany for the field of my official duties, leav- 
ing my wife and child, my earthly all, behind. Great Shep- 
herd of Israel, carry him in thy bosom. 

July bth. Sabbath. Let me enjoy thy presence this day, 
O God of my salvation ; and may my wife and child be 
kept in the hollow of thy hand. Preached from the words, 
" Stand fast," &c. Gal. v. 1. May I know the liberty of 
the gospel, and stand forth an example and friend of it. 

Philadeljjhia, July 15th, 18S1. 
" My dear young friends,— Mrs. S. attempted to write 
you yesterday, to express her deep sense of the obligations 
imposed by your constant, delicate and most gratifying ex- 
pressions of kindness ; but was compelled, in a few moments, 
to lay down the pen, which she could no longer guide or see. 
She is better this morning, but unable to write, and has re- 
quested me to say, for her, that she will write when able ; 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



231 



that she loves you, appreciates your kindnesses, and tries to 
remember you at the mercy-seat of God. 

" Having now executed my commission, I may take the 
liberty of saying a few words on my own account ; or ra- 
ther, much rather, on the account of that Saviour whom I 
desire and endeavour to serve ; but whom my dear young 
friends have never publicly acknowledged. Perhaps he re- 
gards you as his friends. If so, how must he estimate your 
public, practical denial of him and his salvation ? And, if 
you indeed love him, how do you estimate it 1 If either of 
you had, in some hapless and unguarded moment, wounded 
the feelings and disobeyed the most reasonable injunctions of 
the best and kindest of parents, would not the recollection 
of it plant thorns in your midnight pillow, and bathe it with 
your bitterest tears ? And would you go on satisfied and 
happy 1 Would not every favour, lavished upon you by 
parental tenderness, awaken a more poignant sense of your 
guilt and ingratitude 1 

" Now, is not God your Father? Is he not loading you 
with blessings, which you know not how to appreciate, be- 
cause you have never known the want of them 1 Is he 
making the most reasonable requisitions on your hearts and 
lives'? And are you refusing to comply? 

"Pause, ponder well, my dear friends, before you answer. 
And if you have reason to believe that you have been with- 
holding the very offering God requires; the only one you are 
capable of making, that he will accept ; will you still refuse 
to make it 1 

" Will you squander on a creature, or on all creation, that 
which belongs to God ? Oh ! if a brother's affection, and 
a brother's importunity could lead you all, and unreservedly, 
to Jesus, and bless you with all the hopes and joys of the 
gospel, the duty should be done, and the consolations should 
be yours for ever. 



232 



MEMOIR OF THE 



"But there is one above all others, who stoops from hea- 
ven to be your friend. May his Spirit incline and enable 
you to accept his proposals. 

" Remember me, most affectionately, to your parents, and 
believe me, my dear young friends, most fraternally, your 
friend and pastor. 

" J. S." 

Galway, N, F. Aug. 1st, 1831. Here, as a last resort, 
under Divine Providence, we have come to try the benefit of 
the air of the country for our dear babe. O God of life, bless 
these means for his recovery. He appears somewhat revived, 
notwithstanding the fatigue of the journey. May these en- 
couraging symptoms continue. Our Father in heaven, thou 
art our only hope. Kindly interpose thy hand. 

Wednesday, Sd. Yesterday was cold and rainy. An 
invisible hand can sustain and raise up the little sufferer ; 
and without this he evidently must sink soon into the sleep 
of death. Jesus, Saviour, let thy blood cleanse his soul of 
its native defilement and fit it for thy presence and glory. 
What evidence these sufferings give of God's abhorrence of 
sin ! Were it in my power, how soon I should relieve them. 
But it is in God's power; he is far more compassionate 
than I, and yet he permits them. 

August O God, teach me submission. I cannot un- 
derstand why an infant should suffer thus. It cannot atone 
for sin, nor produce penitence, nor exercise patience. Is it 
not for the sake of others, that they may learn to hate sin 
and forsake it? I am sure I need thy correcting rod ; and 
though I would rather suffer, personally, than see my child 
in agony, yet the Judge of all the earth will do right, 
and I dare not prescribe the method nor the measure of his 
paternal stripes. 

P. M. 5 o'clock. Our dear babe seems to be revived. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



233 



" Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the 
child may live ?" 2 Sam. xii. 22. O thou that hearest prayer, 
be entreated to say to this disease, " Thus far and no far- 
ther." Thou canst glorify thy name ; humble me in the 
dust ; bring me nearer to thee ; quicken me in duty in this 
way, as well as by removing him. But, Lord, teach me to 
say thy will, not mine, be done. 

Friday, 5th. Nearer and nearer our dear lamb seems to 
be approaching the last scene. O how fondly his parents' 
arms would chng to him and detain him ; but other arms, I 
trust, are open to receive, and welcome, and bless him. 
Lord, may I have a more vivid impression of thy presence, 
and realize the assurance of the acceptance and bliss of m.y 
dear babe, through Jesus Christ. Enable me to give him up, 
actually, at thy call, as readily as I have tried to give him 
to thee in acts of dedication. He is thine, O Lord, may 
no rebellious feeling dispute thy right or resist thy claim. 

TO M. L. B., ESCl., OF PHILADELPHIA. 

^^Galway, August 5th, 1831. 
« I came to this place, on Monday last, as a last resort, 
under God, for our dear babe. We had intended to go down 
the river, to New York, but learning of our friends in Al- 
bany, that many instances had occurred here of the reco- 
very of children, more reduced than ours, we were induced 
to try the experiment. We are in the family of a skilful 
physician, and have the benefit of the purest air. But all 
will not do. Our little one is sinking, I fear, to the grave. 
He took a relapse the very day before I left Philadelphia ; 
and, with some days of comparative improvement, has been, 
I now believe, regularly and rapidly declining. He is now 
very low, and I should not be surprised to be summoned, at 
any moment, to see him expire. Yet I know the Lord can 
20* 



234 



MEMOIR OF THE 



interpose, and will do it, if it is best; and if it is not best, 
in the view of infinite wisdom, I should not desire it. 

" By this time I hoped to mention the time of my return. 
But I cannot leave my dying child. It seems impossible that 
he should continue longer in his present state. A change, 
yes, a decisive change, may now be hourly expected. Chil- 
dren have been raised after being brought as low as ours. 
But the cases are rare,, and though we shall hope as long as 
he breathes, yet all the probabilities are against his recovery. 
Oh! what an act was that, which has exposed all the mil- 
lions of our race, to the dreadful consequences of sin ! How 
deadly the energy of that contagion which, after travelling 
down the stream of ages, pollutes, and poisons, and destroys 
such multitudes of beings, who have never committed one 
actual transgression ! 

" How wonderful and rich the grace of God, and the 
blood of Jesus, that can make our children the heirs of im- 
mortal glory, when they are incapable of faith, or penitence, 
or prayer for mercy! How high the transports of those 
who only look out upon life's stormy ocean, and are then 
embosomed by the good Shepherd ; who learn the history 
of their fall and their recovery together; and who are taught 
the causes of their sufferings and death when every pang is 
over, and every tear wiped away 1 * * * 

" I am sure I never felt so keenly the depravity of my 
nature as when I have stooped in agony to change the posi- 
tion of my suffering child; and the imploring, despairing 
look which he casts upon us, when no mortal hand can re- 
lieve him, is enough to strike daggers through the soul. 
Methinks it would afford consolation, which I could give a 
world to purchase, had I a world at command, to be able to 
tell my child why he suffers; and to speak to him of Jesus, 
who is willing and ready to receive him when these days and 
nights of anguish shall be ended. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



235 



" But these lessons he cannot learn from a father's lips. 
He will know it all in heaven ; and, probably, know it soon. 
I will write you soon. Mrs. S. unites with me in affection- 
ate regards to the family and friends. 

" Truly yours, in the gospel, 

" J. S." 

12th. Still we have to sing of mercy. O that we might 
lie low at the mercy-seat, and live nearer to God. May 
health be restored to our babe, and a sweet sense of a fa- 
ther's love be given back to our souls ; and may he, and we 
his parents, be conformed entirely to the will of God, and 
be changed into his image and brought into his presence. O 
to stand, and shine, and sing in his kingdom, monuments of 
his glory, reflecting his light and proclaiming his love to a 
wondering universe. 

Sabbath, lAth. Preached this day in the church where I 
was baptised in childhood ; and where, at the age of thirteen, 
I made a public profession of religion, from Phil. ii. 16. 
" Holding forth the word of life." Felt some tenderness and 
comfort in stirring up God's people by way of remembrance. 

I6th, Attended the meeting of the opening Presbytery 
of Albany. Mr. Kirk preached from Paul's theme to the 
Corinthians, " Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ," 

THE THINGS WHICH ARE UNSEEN ARE ETERNAL. 

" The man who desires his happiness from communion 
with God has an object worthy of his love, and suited to his 
spiritual and immortal nature. The soul holds high and de- 
lightful intercourse with infinite mind, and with the lofty in- 
telligences of congenial purity and ardour, that throng the 
Creator's courts, and worship in his presence. To discover 
more and more of his character and perfections, to watch 



236 



ME3I0IR OF THE 



the evolution of his eternal counsels ; to be changed into his 
divine image, from glory to glory ; to trace the wisdom and 
the righteousness of his darkest dispensations; to dwell in 
God's immediate presence ; to behold his glory without a 
glass or cloud to intervene ; to make new discoveries of the 
wonders of his love ; the depth of his condescension ; the 
riches of his grace ; to find the river of life for ever becom- 
ing deeper and broader as it rolls ; to stand in the ranks of 
redeemed sinners, and to swell the everlasting song : to find 
the powers of the mind for ever strengthening, and room for 
their highest exercises ; the capacity for enjoyment for ever 
enlarging and for ever full. These are some of the things 
above, which claim the afTections, and are suited to the na- 
ture of the soul." 

19^^. Returned from the country, afler an absence of se- 
veral weeks of great anxiety. Our child has been danger- 
ously ill, but the Lord has interposed, and, for a few days, 
we have had high hopes of his recovery. O may I be ready 
to resign him at any moment ; and yet be enabled to bring 
him up for God. Sustain, guide and sanctify me, and make 
me more faithful to do and suffer all thy will. 

21sL Preached from Phil. iii. 8. "Yea, doubtless; and I 
count all things but loss," &c. May I imitate the apostle, 
and become savingly acquainted with Jesus Christ. In the 
aflernoon from 1 John ii. 3. " Hereby we know that we 
know him," &c. Could only give an analysis of the ser- 
mon, on account of cold and hoarseness. May I know that 
I know Jesus Christ, and may the word be made quick and 
powerful among us. 

Sabbath, 28th. Read two sermons to-day, unwilling to 
tax, or even trust my feelings, under the trying circumstances 
in which I am placed. 

Monday, 29th. Unfavourable news from my child ; he is 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



237 



much worse again. I fondly hoped his health was improv- 
ing, but it seems to be far otherwise. Great Physician, un- 
dertake for him ; heal him ; and, especially, renew and sanc- 
tify him. Teach me true submission to thy holy will. " I 
know thy judgments, Lord, are right, though they may 
seem severe." Give me brighter evidence of thy covenant 
love, and all will be well. Subdue and sanctify my heart. 

Sabbath, Sept. 5th. Preached with some freedom to-day, 
from Rom. ii. 3, and Prov. xxviii. 13. O that sinners 
might give up their delusive expectations of happiness while 
they neglect the gospel, and be induced to confess and for- 
sake their sins, and then may they find mercy. Lord, may 
I practise the duties and embrace the offers I recommend, 
and feel more of thy presence. 

" DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME." 

" We are accustomed to regard with peculiar sacredness 
the last expressions of expiring friendship. When the heart 
has been desolated of all that responded to its throbbings ; 
when the sun of our prosperity has set, and the bright bow 
of hope and of promise has faded from the clouds that darken 
our horizon ; when a friend sleeps in death, from whose pre- 
sence the world borrowed its lovehness, and the path of 
life its flowers, it is the part and the employment of busy 
memory to recall the looks, tha actions, the words of ten- 
derness, and especially the farewell wishes and exhortations 
of the friend we mourn. Nay, so universal, so deeply seated 
is this principle of human nature, so constant in its opera- 
tions, where any thing hke sensibility is found, that enlight- 
ened communities, not only bow to its influence, but have 
reared around it, the safeguard of civil law. It is to this 
principle of our nature that these words are directly ad- 
dressed. 

« The disciples had left all to follow Christ : they had 



238 



MEMOIR OF THE 



been his constant companions for several years ; they had 
seen his miracles ; they had heard his words ; they had 
tasted of his love ; they had espoused his cause ; they had 
embraced him as their Lord and Master. He had pitied 
their blindness and ignorance; he had borne with their un- 
belief and their erroneous opinions respecting himself, and 
the nature of his kingdom. He had adopted them into his 
family, and loved them as his own. 

" They were now assembled in an upper room in Jeru- 
salem, to celebrate the last paschal supper. He was soon to 
be parted from them, and was desirous of leaving them some 
dying token of his love, some memento of suffering sym- 
pathy ; something to cherish in their bosoms the warm re- 
membrance of the object and the accomplishment of his 
mission to our world. 

" But besides the fact of the words being spoken under 
such interesting circumstances, which give them the charm 
of a most tender and perpetual obligation, they present 
themselves to our contemplation, and our faith, and our obe- 
dience, in all the majesty of God's authority ; in all the un- 
compromising righteousness of God's requisitions." 

"Human life is often compared to the ocean; and the 
sons of men are voyagers to eternity. Their successive ge- 
nerations, like the mountaki billows, are driven onward by 
the same agency, and dashed upon the same shore ; and the 
various characters, and circumstances of men, may find 
some striking illustration in the various states and aspects of 
the mighty deep." 



lltJi. Preached once to-day; had some tenderness, and 
w^as enabled to rise above the circumstances of the congre- 
gation, and to speak in the name and by the authority of°the 
Mediator. Numb. xvi. 48, the text. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



239 



Sahhath, 18th. Lord's supper. Had some precious views 
of my Lord at his table to-day. Endeavoured, in the morn- 
ing, to fix all minds on him as the " Wonderful.'''' Isa. ix. 6. 
At his table, in the afternoon, felt him near and dear to my 
soul. O for an abiding sense of his love ! How it would 
smooth every path and sweeten every cup. 

2bth* Preached this morning from Ps. Ixxxvii. 3. " Glo- 
rious things," &c. May the Lord perform, in his good time, 
the things he has promised to Zion. Was mercifully assisted 
in the services. Lord, stand by me, and hold thou me up, 
and I shall not fall. Give me a forgiving spirit towards 
those who have risen up against me. May my mind be 
stayed on thee, and all my goings ordered by thee. 

Nov. 2d. Lectured this evening from 1 Sam. xxx. 6. 
" But David encouraged himself," &c. O may I be enabled 
to imitate him in the trying circumstances in which I am 
placed. O God, be my God in covenant, and grant me the 
tokens of thy love. 

^d. This day I was to have been in Boston, but the pro- 
vidence of God has prevented me. He will take care of the 
Sabbath School cause. 

Dec. Uh. Almost all my Sabbaths are days of anxiety 
and toil, rather than holy rest and enjoyment. May I be 
enabled, by a more judicious and more successful attention 
to my duties, to secure time for my own spiritual improve- 
ment. To-morrow, the session of Congress opens ; and the 
day after, the Legislature of this state. O God, may their 
deliberations promote thy glory and the good of Zion. 

Friday evening, 9th. Had unusually tender and fervent 
affections in the prayer-meeting this evening ; some enlarge- 
ment in prayer. Lord, inflame me with a more ardent love 
for souls and thee. 

llth. Sabbath. Sick with the influenza, and could not 
preach. Mr. R. preached for the Board of Missions in the 



MEMOIR OF THE 



morning; church closed in the afternoon; much sickness 
prevaihng. Lord, be our physician, and keep us in the hol- 
low of thy hand, and keep our souls in health. 

I2th, Visited the sick. Baptized a child of Mr. G. O 
how precious the hopes of the gospel ! How rich the cove- 
nant of mercy which includes us and our children! My 
gracious Master, smile on the little one I have this day bap- 
tized in thy name, and make her a monument of thy sparing 
mercy and renewing grace. 



But one more record was made by Mr. Sanford, in his 
journal, and that was a very brief one. It is of the date of 
the succeeding day, December 13th, and is as follows: 

" Our babe is quite sick. Called a physician. Lord, bless 
the prescription. In many trying hours thou hast spared 
and upheld him. Do it now, if it is best for him, for us, 
and for thy dear cause." 

But now the time was at hand when it pleased his Lord 
and Master to remove him from his service on earth to his 
service and enjoyment in heaven. In the course of a few 
days afterwards, he caught a violent cold, which brought on 
a raging fever. His final illness was not of long duration, 
but was exceedingly severe and distressing. The unremit- 
ted services of two of the most distinguished physicians in 
Philadelphia were rendered in vain. There was no arrest- 
ing of the disease. 

During the last five or six days Mr. Sanford's mind was 
greatly affected by the sufferings of his body. But, during 
the few lucid moments which intervened, his thoughts were 
evidently fixed on heavenly things, and displayed what had 
long been the habitual state of his soul. 
During this time of suflfering he had the heart-felt sympa- 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



241 



thy of many Christians of his own congregation, as well as 
of the other churches in the city. Many prayers were of- 
fered up in his behalf. And many of his dear flock, as well 
as of other congregations, hastened to proffer any services 
which they could render. 

But although it was distressing to friends not to be allowed 
to converse with this devoted servant of the Lord, and hear 
his abundant testimony to the value of the religion of Christ, 
in a dying hour, yet they had enough to satisfy any mind. 
They had the testimony of a life of more than twenty years 
of consistent, devoted piety to assure them that he was pre- 
pared to die. Nor were there wanting very sweet and cheer- 
ing evidences of his eminent preparedne« for death, even in 
that tremendous process of dissolution which seemed, within 
a few days, to prostrate body and mind in complete ruin. 
During the few lucid moments which intervened, Jesus and 
his salvation, were the theme on which he delighted to dwell. 
One morning he asked Mrs. S. to read to him the thirty- 
fourth Psalm ; and when she had done so, he directed her 
attention to the following hymn, of which he had been very 
fond when in health. 

Jerusalem! my happy home! 

Name ever dear to me! 
When shall my labours have an end. 

In joy, and peace, and thee? 

When shall these eyes thy heaven-built walls 

And pearly g-ates behold? 
Thy bulwarks, with salvation strong", 

And streets of shining- g-old? 

O when, thou city of my God, 

Shall I thy courts ascend, 
Where congregations ne'er break up, 

And Sabbaths have no end? 

21 



242 MEMOIR OF THE 

There happier bowers than Eden*s bloom. 

Nor sin nor sorrow know; 
Blest seats ! throug-h rude and stormy scenes, 

I onward press to you. 

Why should I shrink at pain and wo? 

Or feel, at death, dismay? 
I've Canaan's g-oodly land in view, 

And realms of endless day. 

Apostles, martyrs, prophets there, 

Around my Saviour stand; 
And soon my friends in Christ below. 

Will join the glorious band. 

Jerusalem! my happy home! 

My soul still pants for thee; 
Then shall my labours have an end. 

When I thy joys shall see. 

When asked whether he felt heaven to be his home, he 
replied, with an upward look of the deepest interest, " O 
yes, I feel it to be my happy home." At another time, in 
answer to the inquiry whether Christ was precious to his 
soul, he replied, " Yes, he is the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand, and altogether lovely and, as well as can be recol- 
lected, he added, " I commit my all into his hands, and he 
will keep that which I commit to him." 

On another occasion he was asked whether he felt much 
joy. He replied, '* My joy arises not so much from a sense 
of Christ's presence, or my personal union to him, as from 
a view of the extension of Christ's kingdom in the world." 
At one time he was overheard repeating those words, so 
precious to him in health, 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



243 



** Jesus, lover of my soul, 
Let me to thy bosom fly." 

He was very partial to hymns, and was accustomed, for 
years, to spend the moments of twilight, after the labours of 
the day were closed, in repeating his favourite ones, when 
it often seemed as if his soul mounted upwards on the wings 
of faith, and caught something of that ardour and love 
which animate the happy worshippers above. 

During his seasons of delirium, which were protracted 
and very violent, the state of his church and congregation 
was the absorbing and painful theme, on which his distract- 
ed mind continually dwelt ; and his exclamations in regard 
to that subject were truly heart-rending. 

But why should we dwell on this mournful point ? Death 
soon did his appointed work ; and this devoted servant of 
the Lord was released from his sufferings, and entered into 
rest ! The manner of his death is a matter of comparatively 
little importance. He was prepared to die. What if his dis- 
ease was painful; and the mind, under its violent influence, 
deprived of the use of the faculty of reason ? The ever- 
blessed God has no where, in his word, assured us that his 
children, whom he most tenderly loves, shall not die of the 
same diseases as other men ; and of such diseases, too, as 
their physical constitution and temperament, or their situation 
in life, may expose them to. Let it be enough for us that 
the Lord has done it. What more does the heart that is 
filled with faith and love desire? 

Mr. Sanford died on the morning of the 25th of Decem- 
ber, 1831. On the 28th, the funeral solemnities were per- 
formed. A numerous procession of ministers and other citi- 
zens moved from his late residence to the church of which 
he had been the pastor. The corpse was deposited in front 
of the pulpit ; and the house was filled with deeply solemn 



244 



MEMOIR OF THE 



auditors. The Rev. Dr. M'Auley, after having conducted 

the introductory services, delivered an appropriate address 
from Revelation xiv. 13 : " And I heard a voice from hea- 
ven, saying unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead which die 
in the Lord from henceforth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they 
may rest from their labours; and their works do follow 
them." After the services had been terminated by praver, 
by the Rev. John Breckinridge, the corpse was deposited in 
the family vault of Alexander Henry, Esq., where it remain- 
ed until it was taken to Brooklyn, and deposited by the side 
of the remains of his first wife. On which occasion an ap- 
propriate sermon was preached by the Rev. Ui\ Carroll, 
which was afterwards published. 



Thus ended the mortal career of this servant of God, be- 
fore he had completed his thirty-fourth year. It now re- 
mains that we give some brief notices of his character, his 
attainments, his labours, together with some facts which 
could not well be introduced into the foregoing portion of the 
volume. 

1st. Mr. Sanford's talents u-ere of a very respectable 
order. We speak here of the qualities of his mind. These 
qualities were not so brilliant as substantial. His judgment 
was uncommonly sound and discriminating. His perception 
was sutliciently ready. His memory was good; and his 
taste was refined. His mind was well balanced ; propor- 
tioned, if we may so speak, and disciplined. 

2d. His attainments in knowledge were highly credita- 
ble. His situation, during the greater portion of his youth, 
was not favourable to the acquisition of knowledge. But 
although he did not begin his classical studies until he had 
nearly entered the period of manhood, yet by means of such 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



245 



application to study as a state of health, never very vigor- 
ous, enabled him to make, he obtained a very respectable 
standing in his class at college, in almost every branch of 
study. The same remark may also be applied to his theo- 
logical education. He always maintained an honourable 
standing among his fellow-stu-dents in the Theological Semi- 
nary at Princeton. And many of the themes which he com- 
posed whilst there, as well as during his college course, dis- 
play very considerable attainments, united with a sound 
judgment. We are not aware that he published, over his 
own name, any thing more than one sermon, addressed to 
his church at Brooklyn, when called to leave them ; extracts 
from which have been given in another part of this volume. 
He wrote a considerable number of anonymous articles for 
the religious journals and reviews. He had made some pro- 
gress in the preparation of a Catechism on the Evidences and 
Divine Authority of the Christian Religion, when death put 
an end to his earthly labours. This work was intended to 
embrace the substance of a course of lectures which he had 
delivered on this subject, and was in preparation for the be- 
nefit of Bible Classes and Sunday Schools. Indeed, his la- 
hours as a pastor, to which he most assiduously devoted 
himself, allowed him little time for writing works for public 
cation. 

It was, at first, intended to give a few of his sermons in 
this volume ; but this part of the plan was found impracti- 
cable, inasmuch as it would have increased its size too much. 

Sd, Mr. Sanford's manners were eminently those of a 
Christian gentleman. No one could have known him, we 
think, without being struck with the dignity of his appear- 
ance, and his habitual freedom from every thing resembling 
an unbecoming levity. His whole demeanour was marked 
by that seriousness which ought to characterize a minister 
of Jesus Christ. And yet it was not studied, or acquired as 
21* 



246 



MEMOm OF THE 



a habit. He was far from being morose. In bis intercourse 
with his fellow men be was habitually calm, self-possessed, 
cheerful and agreeable. " His spirit," said Dr. M'Auley, 
in his address at his funeral, " was eminently a spirit of 
great meekness. I can freely say that I never heard from 
his hps one unkind word, one harsh epithet, one unbrotberly 
expression, nor imputation of any motives not avowed by 
their authors. His meekness, and charity, and innocence 
were so blended and triumphant, that the accuser stood forth 
the culprit, and the accused desired no advantage, and seem- 
ed unconscious of the generous feelings and graces which 
he exercised. Of his brethren in the ministry, he always 
spoke as brethren : some of them, indeed, not perfect as yet, 
but brethren still : whose name and reputation were sacred ; 
whose character, precious ; whose influence, vastly impor- 
tant, and not to be diminished. Of his brethren, in his own 
session, he always spoke with perfect respect, and generally 
called them venerable fathers. Of his people he spoke as 
his dear people; and as a man should, who knows he must 
give an account of his flock, of which God has made him 
overseer, of which he is a servant for Jesus' sake, but of 
which he neither is nor may be, hireling, slave, or syco- 
phant."' 

In a word, Mr. Sanford's whole deportment was pene- 
trated by a spirit of benevolence, purity, and propriety, 
which impressed, in the most favourable manner, all with 
whom he came in contact. He was an example of that 
sober-mindedness" which an apostle enjoins, and which is 
so becoming those who profess godliness, and especially 
those who minister at the altar. 

4:th, In the various intimate relations of life, Mr. San- 
ford was emphatically exemplary. These pages bear wit- 
ness to the truth of this assertion. As a son, how bright is 
the example which he set ! For his father, he cherished 



EEV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



247 



and manifested, so long as that parent lived, the most pro- 
found and truly filial respect, which was indicated by ac- 
tions on all proper occasions. To his venerable mother, 
who survives him, he was all that a dutiful and affectionate 
son could be. He spared no pains to render her situation 
as comfortable as it was in his power to do ; and he was in- 
deed a source of great comfort to her in the lonely period of 
her widowhood, so long as God spared him to her. 

As a brother^ he was all that could be desired in that en- 
deared relation ; and his affection will never be forgotten by 
his brother and sister. He felt a very deep interest in their 
spiritual interests, and rejoiced greatly in seeing his prayers 
answered in regard to them. 

As a husband, it would hardly seem necessary to say a 
word in addition to what his letters and his journal have so 
abundantly uttered. He was one of the most devoted and 
excellent of husbands. Such conduct as his gives a dignity 
and happiness to married life, which the Author of marriage 
designed to attach to that tender, affectionate and exalted 
union. 

There is no lesson which this volume is more calculated 
to give than that of the beauty, purity, affection, and happi- 
ness of married life, when pervaded and governed by the 
genuine spirit of Christianity. 

As a father, his letters and his journal bear testimony 
to the deep parental solicitude which he felt for his infant 
son. Indeed a large portion of his journal, after the birth 
of that son, is nothing else than a series of recorded prayers 
on his behalf. And the last sentence which he wrote was 
the record of an invocation of the divine favour over its in- 
fant head. May these earnest and heart-felt prayers prove 
indeed to be a richer legacy than all that wealth and worldly 
greatness could bequeath ! 

As a friend, many among the living can bear testimo- 



248 



SIEMOIR OF THE 



ny to his excellence in this respect. Mr. Sanford was not 
hasty in forming friendships. He was naturally reserved. 
If he had a prominent fault it was that of too great reserve. 
But he was not cold-hearted. He was not a doubtful friend. 
Where his affections were once enlisted, they were perma- 
nent, ardent, faithful. There was, with him, however, no 
empty profession of friendship. His was the silent, deep, 
lasting feeling of the heart, and was displayed in acts rather 
than in words, though there were not wanting times in which 
he gave way to the spontaneous gush of ardent affection in 
his letters to his chosen, his bosom friends. 

bth. Mr, Sanford was a man of eminent piety. This 
w^as his crowning excellence. His piety was early, uniformly 
progressive, enlightened, consistent, beautifully symmetrical, 
and fruitful. He was a man of far more than ordinary piety. 
He was a very holy man. His conversation and deport- 
ment invariably made this impression on the minds of those 
who became acquainted with him. In all situations, and 
under all circumstances, he was the same holy, devoted 
man. His very look mdicated that he was a man conver- 
sant with eternal things. 

o 

He was a man of much prayer. He evidently spent 
much time in his closet. This was the secret of his remark- 
able gift of prayer; or, rather, of the gift and grace of it 
united. His prayers, in public, possessed great fervour, 
propriety of expression, solemnity, unction. They were 
the prayers of a man of a most devout spirit— of one who 
was familiar with the blessed, the solemn work of address- 
ing God. His life seemed to be truly what archbishop 
Leighton calls the heavenly life— that of ascending to hea- 
ven by prayer, to obtain spiritual blessings, and descending 
to the earth to scatter them among his fellow mortals. 

We have said that Mr. Sanford's piety was symmetrical. 
It was emphatically so. His piety was uncommonly per- 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



249 



feet, in this, the scriptural sense of the word perfect. It 
shed its hallowed influence on all his actions. It was a holy- 
principle which pervaded every thing which he did. He 
carried his religion with him, wherever he went. It was 
this which rendered him a conscientious man, and fearless 
too, in the discharge of ascertained duly. During the last 
two years of his life, his conscientious adherence to princi- 
ple, and to what he deemed to be duty, was often put to a 
severe test, especially in the distressing discussions and acts 
of the ecclesiastical bodies of which he was a member. Act- 
uated, as he felt himself to be, by principle, he was not 
slow, however, to admit that those who were opposed to his 
views of duty might be influenced by just as conscientious a 
regard for duty as himself. 

Mr. Sanford's piety was evidently progressive. From the 
outset in the divine life, he seemed to advance steadily, and 
was a striking illustration of the truth of the divine declara- 
tion, that the " path of the just is as the shining light, which 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 

« During his last illness," remarks Dr. M'Auley, in the 
discourse to which we have already referred, " and as he 
rapidly approached the melancholy catastrophe, in all the 
agonies and wanderings of a mind overwhelmed with trou- 
ble, not a murmuring, nor unkind, nor harsh expression 
escaped his lips. Instead of this, his prayers were constant, 
and painfully interesting, for grace, and mercy, and peace 
upon all his congregation; his church-members, especially 
the lambs of his flock; his friends, his brethren, and his 
very dear family. There was scarcely any wandering here. 
The living oracles of God were lively in his heart, and, m 
every lucid moment, came with life from his dying hps. 
Heaven seemed let down to earth, and filled the privileged 
chamber where the good man yielded up the ghost." 

6th. Mr, Sanford possessed uncommon advantages as a 



250 



MEMOIR OF THE 



public speaker. Few men are capable of producing so 
deep an impression on the minds of a public assembly. To 
the possession of an uncommonly melodious voice, were 
united a commanding person, a serious but agreeable coun- 
tenance, perfect self-possession, and a vigorous but chastened 
imagination. He had cultivated, with considerable care, the 
whole art of public speaking, and few men of his age were 
his equals in it. Those who sat under his ministry will 
never forget the powerful appeals of his eloquence. Nor 
will those who heard his occasional addresses at the annual 
meetings of the American Bible Society, and other religious 
and benevolent assemblies of New York; or at those of the 
American Sunday School Union, and other societies of Phi- 
ladelphia, soon forget the deep and holy impression of his 
eloquence on those occasions. He spoke emphatically with 
the view of doing good, of giving proper views of duty, of 
exciting to holier and higher resolutions, and to a determi- 
nation, in reliance on divine grace, to execute them. There 
was, with him, no speaking for mere effect. It was always 
a conscientious and prayerful effort to advance the glory of 
God and the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. And unless 
he believed that there was a reasonable prospect of accom- 
plishing this great end, he declined accepting the invitation 
to make a public address on such occasions. He was also 
very distinguished for his speeches in the Presbytery and 
other ecclesiastical bodies of which he was, from time to 
time, a member. Pie did not ordinarily speak very oflen ; 
but it was seldom that he did speak without producing a ma- 
nifest effect. 

7th. The work of the ministry was the sphere in which 
Mr, Sanford delighted to move. This was his chosen, his 
appropriate field of labour. To preach the gospel from the 
pulpit, and to perform the work of pastoral visitation, was 
the highest enjoyment which earth could yield him. No 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



251 



other employment, however interesting, or however useful it 
might be, could be compared with that of directly labouring 
to convert souls, and to assist them to prepare for a holy 
heaven. To fit himself for the work of the ministry, he 
had spent several years of preparation. And when, in the 
good providence of God, he was allowed to be " put in trust 
of this ministry," he entered upon his work with a deep 
sense of its solemn importance and responsibility, and also 
with great delight. Even long before the completion of his 
college studies, he had commenced labouring, as opportunity 
was afforded, for the salvation of men. Many of the churches 
around Schenectady will long remember his visits of love 
during that signal outpouring of the Spirit, in the years of 
1819 and 1820. And when he entered upon his office, as 
an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Brooklyn, he 
consecrated himself wholly to the work. This engrossed 
his soul. His studies all had a direct bearing upon it. No- 
thing was pursued which did not have this great end in view. 
He " preached the word in season, and out of season." And 
he was among his people as an overseer who watched for 
their souls ; as one who " sought not theirs, but them." 
And his ministry there was eminently successful. Under his 
ministrations, the church increased very greatly. Within 
the period of five years and three months, during which he 
was pastor of their church, nearly four hundred persons 
were added to its communion. And, during the time of his 
pastoral labours in the Second Presbyterian Church, in Phi- 
ladelphia, which was less than three years, upwards of one 
hundred and fifty persons were added to the number of its 
members. Thus, exclusive of the good which he did by 
occasional labours in other places, more than five hundred 
persons were brought to the knowledge of the Saviour in 
the two congregations to which he ministered as pastor, 



252 



MEMOIR OF THE 



during a period of little more than eight years. This fact 
demonstrates that his ministry was a successful one. 

Mr. Sanford was an affectionate, faithful pastor. He vi- 
sited his jXiople much, and was especially attentive to the 
poor and the sick. To the afflicted he was a most suitable 
minister. He could truly say, 

"Haud igTiara mall miseris succurre disco."* 

The couch of the afflicted was a spot which had many at- 
tractions for his sympathising heart. He hasted thither as 
often as his other duties permitted. To the young of his 
flock, and especially to the young converts, he was greatly 
attached. He watched over them with more than parental 
solicitude, counselled them, shared their joys and their sor- 
rows, and helped them, by every means in his power, in their 
upward journey to the skies. Nor did he cease to feel an 
interest in a people because he ceased to be their pastor. 
He frequently revisited Brooklyn, after his removal to Phi- 
ladelphia, and laboured, as he had opportunity, for the bene- 
fit of the people of his former charge, and witnessed with 
delight the successful labours of his successor. 

That such a pastor should be loved, dearly loved, by a 
people in whom he took so lively an interest, and to many 
of whom he had been, under God's blessing, an instrument 
of the highest spiritual blessings, is not wonderful. This 
aflection he shared until the day of his death. We select 
two or three letters, from among many, which he received 
from members of his former charge, at Brooklyn, written to 
him at Philadelphia, and which show how highly that people 
valued him. The first is from a gentleman in that congre- 
gation, in whom Mr. Sanford had long felt a very deep in- 

* Having- myself experienced misfortune, I have learned to 
help the miserable. 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



253 



terest, but who had not become a decided Christian when he 
removed to Philadelphia. During one of the visits which 
he made to Brooklyn he sought an interview with this gen- 
tleman, and had a faithful conversation with him, which, 
with the divine blessing, was the means of leading him to 
decision on the subject of religion, and to the Saviour. Soon 
after he had found peace in believing he addressed the fol- 
lowing letter to his former pastor, to inform him of the 
happy change which he had experienced. The second is 
from a young lady who had received much benefit from his 
instructions. The third is from an excellent Christian in 
that church, who has long been a blessing to it, and to the 
church of Christ throughout our country, by his beneficence. 

" Brooklyn, April 26th, 1830. 

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, 

" You will be reminded by this, of the request you made 
me to write you. Although I felt, then, as though I should 
like to write, still did not believe I should. 

" I, however, bless God that I am now, not only enabled 
to discharge a duty which ought long since to have been ac- 
knowledged and performed, but experience a pleasure in 
communicating the goodness and mercy of God to my soul. 
If you were not well acquainted with my former views and 
feelings on religious subjects, and had not heard me recently 
express them, I should be particular in the relation of them; 
but you have too well and too long known them to make it 
either necessary or interesting. Suffice it to say, that I be- 
lieve the interview at my house was, under God, the means 
of leading me to the Saviour ; and, while I sincerely thank 
you for that short visit, I desire to render to God all the glory 
of my salvation. 

22 



254 



MEMOIR OF THE 



" I shall never forget the expression you then made use 
of, * Look to Jesus, look and live: Nor the manner you 
pointed that finger to him. I was convinced, by your re- 
marks, that my then state of mind was the effect of the 
strivings of the Holy Spirit. And, as I was convinced of 
sin, I had but ' to look and live,' And these thoughts were 
so impressed on my mind, that the day you lefl us, I 
was enabled to believe, and see, and feel, that although I 
had been a great sinner, yet the blood of Christ was s°ufii. 
cient to cleanse me, even me, and on that alone I rested, and 
desire to rest, my only hope of salvation. 

" Oh, my dear sir, I know not how to thank God as I 
ought for his long-suffering kindness and forbearance to me. 
\ ou, too, well know the many mercies and bounties of Di- 
vine Providence, which have literally been heaped upon me. 
\ ou know, too, how often, under your ministry, I was con- 
vinced of sin, and yet how often I grieved the Spirit and 
said, ' Go thy way for this time.' 

" If I am not deceiving myself (and I verily believe f 
am not) I pray that I may be a sincere, devout, humble 
Christian, rejoicing with trembling, and showing to the worid, 
by my walk and conversation, that I love Jesus my Saviour, 
and desire the salvation of all mankind. 

" As you feel a lively interest in the spiritual concerns of 
your late, and, I trust, still deariy beloved people, I will say 
that the day you left, there was a miceting at the house of 
Mr. Carroll for those under conviction of sin, and who were 
anxious about the salvation of their souls. There were then 
twenty present, under different degrees of conviction ; some 
of whom are now rejoicing in the hope of a glorious immor- 
tality, others halting, waiting, perhaps, for the same reasons 
that I did ; and others, I fear, have lost their serious impres- 
sions. At the next meeting there were, in addition to the 
former number, five others ; and, as far as I can judge, from 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



255 



their solemnity, and what I learn of their views, they have 
set their faces Zionward. Surely the Spirit of God is in our 
midst, and I hope for a great harvest of souls as the fruit of 
your, and your brother Carroll's sowing. 

" I have been enabled (not in my own strength) to erect 
a family altar, and, morning and evening, to call my family 
around it, and there offer up my thanks to the Almighty for 
the manifestations of his great goodness, and supplicate his 
continued blessings. 

" I now desire to thank you, in the Lord, for your faith- 
fulness and kindness to me and my family, and to request, 
as a further obligation, on my part, that you would soon 
write me a long letter, and give me that Christian advice 
which your own experience so well qualifies you to do. 
And do not forget to pray for me. I desire to be affection- 
ately remembered to your wife, and then unite with my wife 
and sister, in testifying our love and esteem, both towards 
you and yours. 

" That the Lord may prosper and bless you abundantly, 
in that whereunto he hath called you, is my sincere prayer." 

« Brooklyn, Jan. 6th, 1830. 

" The kind congratulations of my dear pastor* were re- 
ceived on the morning of the new year, and excited emo- 
tions which I know not how to describe. 

"I was musing upon days and scenes for ever fled, and my 
heart felt sad indeed, when your unexpected favour was 
handed me, and in a measure dispelled the gloom, although 
it brought the past more vividly to remembrance. 

"How painful the retrospect of seasons misemployed. 
Oh my pastor, the view is an overwhelming one ! What 

• Thus she always addressed him. 



256 



MEMOIR OF THE 



cause have I for gratitude, that I have not been cutoff in the 
midst of my unfaithfulness. I am permitted to behold the 
opening of another year. May the wish expressed in your 
' dear letter be answered, that ' God would make it a happy 
year by granting his presence. and the light of his counte- 
nance.' Will you not frequently put up this petition for me 
at the throne of grace, for my days of darkness are many." 

" Deprived of the privilege of attending the sanctuary, 
this evening, I will devote it to answering the affectionate in- 
quiries of my much loved pastor. You express the hope 
that I am living in the light of God's countenance, and re- 
joicing to see his work prospering around us. Moments, 
sweet and precious, are granted, during which I am enabled 
to say. My Father, with an unfaltering tongue. These 
are green spots in my pilgrimage through this wilderness, 
and demand my warmest gratitude. 

" I trust I do rejoice to see those around me enjoying the 
presence of God ; and there is much cause for rejoicing at 
present. Many are inquiring the way to Zion, and some 
have submitted to the Saviour. The little cloud, we trust, 
is increasing still. Yes, my dear pastor, the seed you have 
sown we trust is now springing up, and will yield an abun- 
dant harvest. Our meetings are all well attended. At the 
prayer-meeting, on Friday evening last, every seat in the 
lecture room was occupied, and several around me were in 
tears. I had thought Mr. C. too sanguine in his expecta- 
tions ; but was now led to exclaim, ' The Lord is in the 
midst of us, and I knew it not.' Mr. C. has an inquiry- 
meeting every week : the number present at the last I do not 
recollect. 

" If the professed followers of the Lamb will be united 
and unceasing in their petitions at a throne of grace, I do 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



257 



think we shall experience a season of refreshing from the 
presence of the Lord. 

" My dear pastor, I do wish you could be with us, that 
both the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. 

" Your request shall certainly be complied with ; but do 
not imagine that you are forgotten. O no, there are those 
who oft present you in the arms of their affection, at a throne 
of grace, and whose earnest prayer is, that your present la- 
bours may be abundantly blessed. 

" When shall we be permitted to welcome you at Brook- 
lyn ? Do you not intend coming this spring ? That you 
may have your heart encouraged and revived by seeing the 
work of the Lord prospering under your present ministra- 
tions, is the ardent prayer of your affectionate friend." 

« Brooklyn, April Uth, 1831. 

" REV. AND DEAR SIR, 

" Knowing that you feel deeply interested in all the con- 
cerns of our church, I hasten to communicate some of the 
particulars with which our hearts were cheered yesterday. 
It was the communion Sabbath, (session having, on a for- 
mer occasion, found it inexpedient to celebrate that ordi- 
nance on the frst Sabbath, by a permanent regulation, have 
substituted the second.) Before the appointed hour, 3 o'clock, 
the church was filled to overflowing ; benches and chairs 
were placed in the aisles, and were all occupied. One hun- 
dred and three names were then called off; the Confession- 
of Faith, penned by yourself, was then read and assented to. 
Thirty-two individuals were baptized ; and the covenant, ac- 
cording to the form you left with us, was then solemnly en- 
tered into. The whole body of the church, except the part 
immediately under the front gallery, had been reserved for 
the communicants, and every seat was crowded. A com- 
22* 



258 



MEMOIR OF THE 



mittee, consisting of three deacons, had been appointed to 
superintend the seating and accommodating the various 
classes of communicants and visiters. The galleries, filled 
beyond any former occasion, maintained the most profound 
silence ; and, although the exercises took up more than two 
hours, no impatience whatever was manifested, but every 
thing was done with decency and order. I could delight in 
describing this scene, but the outline must suffice. I know 
you can fill up all that is necessary to bring the spectacle 
before you. Your mind's eye will discern many counte- 
nances that have, in times past, been fixed on yours, when 
imparting the tidings of salvation, and inviting them to close 
with the offers of mercy — at length they have yielded. 

" To God's rich, and free, and sovereign grace, through 
the gift of his dear Son, and the influences of his Holy Spirit, 
we would ascribe all the praise. The human instrumental- 
ity employed in this work, has been the incessant labour of 
our beloved pastor, somewhat more engagedness on the part 
of the elders and deacons, and of individual Christiane ; 
and of the assembling together of the congregation for 
morning prayer. This was begun on Monday, the 28th of 
February, at 6 o'clock, and continued precisely one hour. 
The experiment was tried for holding these meetings every 
other morning, for one week, but the plan was abandoned. 
It was found the best to meet every morning. These meet- 
ings continue to be well attended. The lecture room has, 
at some periods, been crowded ; and this morning, although 
the weather was cold, and the hour of meeting half past five, 
the room was nearly full. On Friday, the 11th, and Satur- 
day, the 12th of February, public services were held in our 
church, at which some of the clergy from the city, attended. 
These we have every reason to believe were attended with 
beneficial effects. I have only to add, that our brethren of 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



259 



the Dutch, Episcopal, Baptist, and Methodist churches, are 
more or less stirred up at this time. 

" Mr. M'llvaine (now bishop of Ohio) has regular meet- 
ings for religious conversation, and is much encouraged in 
his labours. There is a most excellent state of feeling 
amongst the respective denominations of this place. Our 
morning prayer meeting has been attended by individuals of 
all these several persuasions ; and it is a delightful circum- 
stance, that the voice of prayer has ascended in our lecture 
room from the Episcopalian, the Dutch Reformed, the Bap- 
tist, the Methodist, as well as the Presbyterian." 

But not only was Mr. Sanford greatly beloved by his 
people in Brooklyn, he had many warm friends wherever he 
was known. In Philadelphia, there were not a few by 
whom he was greatly beloved. The following is one out of 
many letters addressed to him by members of his church, 
in that city, which exhibit the great affection entertained for 
him. It was written by a person who is every way quali- 
fied to form an opinion of what constitutes profitable preach- 
ing, 

" Pardon me, dear sir, for so long retaining the book you 
kindly lent me last summer, which I read with peculiar in- 
terest ; and, I hope, with profit. The doctrines it presents 
to view are the only foundation on which my soul can rest 
with confidence of pardon and acceptance before God. They 
are well calculated to bring relief to the conscience labour- 
ing under a sense of guilt, and feeling the necessity of a 
better righteousness than sinful human nature can possibly 
render. 

" I cannot deny myself the gratification afforded by this 
opportunity, of expressing, though it be but feebly, our grate- 



260 



MEMOIR OF THE 



ful sense of the kindness you have evinced toward us, under 
the severe afflictions through which we have been called to 
pass. You have been truly the minister of consolation to 
us ; and though we have experienced much of the loving- 
kindness of our heavenly Father in sustaining us, while suf- 
fering beneath the righteous inflictions of his hand, we have 
especially felt our faith confirmed, our hopes excited, and 
our wounded spirits soothed and elevated while we accom- 
panied you in your fervent addresses to the throne of grace, 
and poured out our prayers and our sorrows, where only we 
could obtain relief and support. 

" I pray God that the consolations wherewith you have 
been enabled to comfort others may be abundantly adminis- 
tered by his gracious Spirit to your own heart, in your pre- 
sent painful circumstances. I have most sincerely sympa- 
thized in the varied afflictions you have been called to en- 
dure ; and my constant, earnest prayer has been that you 
might be sustained and comforted, guided and blessed by 
him, to whom having, in faith, committed your way, you 
have his certain promise that he will direct your steps. 

" Ever since, in the providence of God, I was first per- 
mitted to attend upon your ministry, 1 have found your 
mode of presenting divine truth peculiarly adapted, if I may 
be allowed the expression, to my spiritual taste ; and, if not 
deceived in the humble hope I indulge, that I have been 
brought into the way of life and peace, I feel that I am 
greatly indebted to your instrumentality for any progress I 
may have since made in the divine life, any measure of 
comfort or edification I have experienced. Your faithful 
admonitions have frequently been brought home with resist- 
less energy to my heart, and, through the divine blessing, 
which, I trust, has attended your ministrations, I have been 
instructed, reproved, humbled, and animated to greater dili- 
gence in Christian duty by the message of his grace, which 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOED. 



261 



I doubt not God has commissioned you to deliver. My lan- 
guid affections have often received a new and upward im- 
pulse, while influenced by his Spirit, in your prayers you 
have led us into the immediate presence of God. 

"Forgive me for dwelling so long on the expression of 
my own feelings. But to a heart in some degree sensible 
of its obligations, there is pleasure in acknowledging a debt 
of gratitude which it feels it can never discharge. And 
among the richest blessings which God confers, the privi- 
lege of receiving the instructions of a faithful pastor is one 
which claims our most fervent thanks. 

"Assure Mrs. S. of my affectionate remembrance. I 
rejoice to hear that her health is in so great a degree re- 
stored. Remember me with sincere respect to your mother. 
" With sentiments of most grateful esteem, 

" Yours." 

Nor was the circle of those ^yho loved him, and who con- 
sulted him, confined to his own church, or even his own de- 
nomination. The following two letters were addressed to 
him by persons who occasionally frequented his lectures. 
The first is from a gentleman belonging to the Episcopal 
church. The second is from a most estimable individual, 
who was then under the awakening influences of the Spirit, 
and whose case needed that judicious advice which the spi- 
ritual and experienced teacher, whom she consulted, knew 
so well how to administer. 

" Sunday night, 

" May God bless you, my dear sir, by making you the 
means of turning many to righteousness ! 

" Your sermon, this evening, was exactly what I wished 



262 



MEMOIB OF THE 



for my dear wife. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, as 
she has understood it— and understood it so long, that I fear 
it will be very difficult to eradicate it from her mind— has 
been Ixing as an impassable barrier before her ; and had 
been, (so far as I could see) the cause of the gradual decay 
of her earnestness, and the origin of an apathy the most 
dreadful. 

" It is to no purpose that God's word, so full, so univer- 
sal in its offers, is preached to her by me, or by any one 
whom she has been accustomed to consider heterodox upon 
the point of predestination. I have assured her that I dif- 
fered, upon that subject, with the teachers to whom she has 
been accustomed, only in so much that I considered them to 
waste their time, and to confound their hearers, by prj-ing 
into what must, from the nature of the human mind, be dark 
to us, while in the present state of being. I have assured 
her that, practically, there was no difference among the 
mass of Christians. Some are more metaphysical than 
others — and metaphysics are not intelligible to any congre- 
gation. It really does appear to me that injury is done, 
whenever a sermon of that kind is preached. 

" Excuse me, dear sir, my only object in enlarging upon 
this point is, to testify to the correctness of your apprehen- 
sions upon the extent of the impediment which it was, to- 
night, your object to remove. 

" Come and see us whenever you can, and I confidently 
look for the blessing of God to my wife and sister, through 
your hands. 

" I am anxious to be better acquainted with you; and I 
shall be glad, whenever you can make useful to yourself the 
gratitude and confidence of 

" Your fiiend." 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



263 



" Sunday night, 
" You have, to-night, dear sir, expressed a wish that any 
of your congregation who wished to consult their pastor 
concerning their eternal interests, would call upon you to- 
morrow. 

" Not having a claim upon you as one of your flock, I do 
not feel at liberty to intrude upon you at that time ; but, 
feeling a strong desire to have some communication with you, 
I have chosen this method. But first let me state, as some 
excuse for encroaching upon your time, that I am one of 
Dr. W.'s congregation, and, of course, have no pastor, at 
present, to whom I could apply. 

" My complaint is hardness of heart, and an utter indif- 
ference feeling, to the things of most importance. Flav- 
ing sat under Dr. W.'s preaching, during my whole life, I 
have never, for a moment, had the excuse of ignorance of duty 
to plead ; but have gone on, from my earliest recollection, to 
the age of twenty-eight, deliberately sinning against my own 
conscience. I think I never have laboured under any self-delu- 
sion in this respect. I do not remember ever having persuaded 
myself that what I was doing was right. Indeed I do not remem- 
her having ever attempted it; but, having seen right and wrong 
clearly set before me, have calmly, and without trembling, 
chosen the evil — have deliberately turned away my thoughts 
from sacred things and turned them unto sin. All my life 
long I remember seasons when my reason would so strongly 
represent the irrationality of pursuing a course which would 
so certainly eventuate in misery, that I would make a few 
faint efforts to free myself, but evil habits were too strong 
upon me, and I willingly yielded to Satan's powerful influ- 
ence. After a while, I found that his service, even the ser- 
vice I had chosen, was, indeed, bondage; but every failure 
to release myself only made my bonds stronger. I have 



264 



MEMOIR OF THE 



found by actual experience, what reason had always told 
me, that even without reference to a hereafter, a pure and 
holy life, with all its self-denial, must be infinitely happier 
than living in sin. I think that, for some time past, it has 
not been so much the pleasure of sin, as the force of power- 
ful habits, long indulged— too powerful for any but Almighty 
force to overcome, that has kept me in bondage. My un- 
derstanding has lately felt this slavery so much, and the 
consequences to be so inevitable, that I have been making 
my heart also affected with the subject. In this I have as 
yet failed. I know that no power can effect a change but 
the Spirit of God ; but I also know that it will be a certain 
evidence that I have not this Spirit if I sit down to wait for 
it without making any effort. I have prayed — how weakly, 
and, no doubt, wickedly, God knows — still I have never en- 
tirely given it up ; for it would be deliberately dropping the 
only hold I have, however insecure a one. My difficulty is, 
that I am in no distress of mind ; or, rather, in no distress 
of heart. I set in array before me the attributes of a holy 
God ; but my heart is deadened by long indulgence in sin, 
and the contemplation produces no awe, no emotion. I, 
therefore, though perfectly conscious of sin so great that 
only his restraining hand has prevented me from being the 
worst of actual transgressors, have no feeling of the inex- 
pressible guilt of sin, as committed against a pure and per- 
fect being. As a consequence of this, I do not feel my need 
of a Saviour, though perfectly conscious that I can do no- 
thing of myself; and, of course, cannot see the excellence 
and all -sufficiency of Christ, as a Saviour. 

" Your representation of the love of Christ, to-night, I 
found had no effect upon my hard and stony heart. The 
most trivial things will turn my thoughts away from these 
all-important subjects; and it requires a constant effort of the 
mind to pay what little attention I do. And yet I cannot be 



REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



265 



content to give the matter up. I think I can say that I have 
not the shghtest expectation of ever gaining the least ad- 
vantage by any righteousness of my own. I am fully con- 
scious of my own utter inability to raise myself from the 
depths wherein I am sunk. And, I think, also, that I have 
none of the pride of heart which would make me object to 
owe all to Christ. I think, as far as I have any command 
over my own feelings, that I am perfectly willing to submit, 
but I find that I cannot repent and believe. I know that the 
obstacles have been created by myself; and that, therefore, 
I have no right to any assistance. But, as God has promised 
that he will give bread, and not a stone, to those that ask 
him, I cannot but entertain some faint hope that he may 
grant me his Holy Spirit to enlighten and warm my heart. 
In the meantime I know that I must * stretch forth the 
withered arm.' — But how to do this ! 

" I have generally attended on your preaching on Sun- 
day and Wednesday evenings, for some weeks past, and have 
found that what I heard from you tended, more than any 
other preaching, to keep alive the faint determinations which 
I had formed. I know that God has given us, in the Scrip- 
tures, a full revelation of the way of Hfe ; but as my heart 
seems closed against the truth contained therein, he may, 
perhaps, bless some explanation or advice which you can 
give me." 

Even strangers were indebted to him for his faithful in- 
structions in the journeys which he made. The following 
extracts from a letter, written by a young lady who had 
heard from his lips " a word in season," state an instance 
of this sort. 

" In the year 1826, my dear mother consented that I 
should visit New York for the first time. My feelings, on 
23 



266 



MEMOIR OF THE 



leaving home, were rather sad. This first excited the at- 
tention of a lady on board, who entered into conversation 
with me. In hopes of diverting my thoughts from self, and 
those I was leaving behind, she made remarks on the indi- 
viduals around us. Your dearly beloved, and much lamented 
husband was one among them. He had, at that time, been 
to visit his parents ; and, if I mistake not, to attend the last 
mournful rites of a beloved father. This circumstance, with 
others mentioned, excited in me a deep interest for one so 
afflicted. 

"After a short time, a gentleman, with whom I had a 
slight acquaintance in Albany, came and took a seat by me. 
He made many remarks on serious subjects, somewhat de- 
ridingly ; and at last concluded by saying, ' Well, if there 
is any hereafter,' &c. In reply \o this, I said, ' Could I 
believe in annihilation T should be comparatively happy.' 
This remark did not escape the observation of your bus- 
band, who was engaged at that moment in conversation 
with a gentleman very near me. They had no sooner 
finished, than, turning to me, he inquired: 'Did I rightly 

understand you, Miss , in saying that you believed in 

annihilation V ' I said, if I could believe in it, I should be 
comparatively happy.' ' You are not happy, then,' replied 
Mr. S., and immediately commenced a conversation of the 
deepest interest. First, by general remarks ; then, by de- 
grees, more and more pointed, until personal feelings were 
spoken of Being made somewhat acquainted with my his- 
tory, from myself, he alluded to the death of my father; 
the promises made to the orphan, and a heavenly Father's 
care. The mercies of a suffering Saviour. Particular pro- 
vidences. The various calls of sinners. The astonishing 
forbearance of God in sparing them, and granting them op- 
portunities to turn and live, &c. He then adverted to the 
pleasures of New York ; the many temptations that would 



REV. JOSEPH SANFOKD. 



267 



surround me on all sides; entreated me to consider this, and 
see if I could resist all these allurements. I replied, that I 
hoped that duty to my mother would not be so far forgotten 
as to allow me to do any thing out of her presence which 
she could not sanction at home. Thus ended this interview 
for that day. It was resumed as we came in sight of New 
York, the following morning ; after which, in the most so- 
lemn and impressive manner, Mr. S. bade me farewell. 

" What an effort I then found it to appear cheerful ! I 
was determined, at that time, never to let any one know 
what fires raged within. After my arrival in the city, having 
a letter of introduction to a most pious, and, afterwards, in- 
timate friend, I was in a measure shielded from many tempta- 
tions. This friend improved every opportunity to warn and 
admonish me; and is now, no doubt, reaping the reward 
promised to the faithful amid the heavenly host. 

" Could Christians only feel more that it was their privi- 
lege, as well as duty, to seek out opportunities for doing 
good, we cannot say what blessed results would follow. 

" I staid in New York five weeks. During that time, 
heard Mr. Sanford preach once. I desired much to see him ; 
-he took my address before parting at the wharf, with the 
intention of calling on me ; but I afterwards learned indis- 
position prevented him until the very day I left the city for 
home. 

" On arriving at Albany I found the church, of which 
my mother was a member, awakened to a sense of their ob- 
ligations, and inquiring meetings were established. The first 
was held on Tuesday evening — one of deep interest to me. 
Many of my intimate friends were present. All of them 
since united with the church militant. 

" I have not, even in a faint manner, done justice to an 
event which, to me, was one of so much moment. Oh that 
I could give you to understand the manner in which all was 



268 



MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOSEPH SANFORD. 



said ; but I should fail did I make the attempt. I can only, 
therefore, say it was the spirit of Jesus that spoke to me 
through him." 



If it were proper, or necessary, to give the letters of con- 
dolence which his family received, upon his death, every 
reader would say that he was greatly beloved. But we must 
close these remarks. 

Such was the Rev. Joseph Sanford— a man of God ; a 
faithful ambassador of Jesus Christ. May the contempla- 
tion of his life, of his faith, his example, of his usefulness, 
be rendered profitable, through the divine blessing, to all 
who read this volume ; and to God alone shall be the praise. 



THE END. 



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